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NEW  YORK: 

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SUCCESSORS  TO 

Clark  & Maynard,  Publishers, 

771  Broadway  and  67  & 69  Ninth  St. 
1891. 


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KELLOGG’S  EDITIONS. 

SHAKESPEARE'S  PLAYS. 

JBacb  plag  in  ©ne  lDolume. 

Text  Carefully  Expurgated  for  Us9  in  Mixed  Classes. 


With  Portrait,  Notes,  Introduction  to  Shakespeare's  Grammar 
Examination  Papers,  and  Plan  of  Study. 

(SELECTED.) 


By  BRAINERD  KELLOGG,  A.M., 

Professor  of  the  English  Language  and  Literature  in  the  Brooklyn  Poly techni 
* Institute,  and  author  of  a “ Text-Book  on  Rhetoric , a _ Text-Book  on 
English  Literature and  one  of  the  authors  of  Reed  dt 
Kellogg's  “ Lessons  in  English 


The  notes  have  been  especially  prepared  and  selected,  to  meet  th 
requirements  of  School  and  College  Students,  from  editions  by  emi 
nent  English  scholars. 

We  are  confident  that  teachers  who  examine  these  editions  v ill  pro 
nounce  them  better  adapted  to  the  wants  of  the  class-room  than  an. 
others  published.  These  are  the  only  American  Edition 
of  these  Plays  that  have  been  carefully  expurgate* 
for  use  in  mixed  classes. 

Printed  from  large  type,  attractively  bound  in  cloth,  and  sold 
nearly  one  half  the  price  of  other  School  Editions  of  Shakespeare. 

The  following  Plays,  each  in  one  volume,  are  now  ready: 

MERCHANT  OF  VENICE. 

JULIUS  CAESAR. 

MACBETH. 

TEMPEST. 

HAMLET. 

KING  HENRY  V. 

KING  LEAR. 


KlNu  n 1 1 \ n Y iv  ij  » t 1 

KING  HENRY  VIII. 

AS  YOU  LIKE  IT. 

KING  RICHARD  I.L 
A MIDSUMMER-NIGHT’! 
DREAM. 

A WINTER'S  TALE, 


2 tailing  price,  SO  cents  per  copy.  Special  Price  to  Teachers. 

Full  Descriptive  Catalogue  sent  on  application. 


ENGLISH  CLASSICS. 


Warren  Hastings. 


AN  ESSAY 

BY 

LORD  MACAULAY, 


(ABRIDGED.) 


EDITED  FOR  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  USE  BY 

ALBERT  F.  BLAISDELL,  A.M.,  M.D., 

rTHOR  OF  “ STUDY  OF  THE  ENGLISH  CLASSICS,”  “ OUTLINES  FOR  THE  STUDY  OP 
THE  ENGLISH  CLASSICS,”  ‘‘FIRST  BOOK  IN  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.” 


NEW  YORK: 

Effingham  Maynard  & Co 


SUCCESSORS  TO 

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771  Broadway  and  67  & 69  Ninth  St. 


A Complete  Course  in  the  Study  of  Englis 


Spelling,  Language,  Grammar,  Composition , Literature . 

Reed’s  Word  Lessons — A Complete  Speller. 

Reed  & Kellogg’s  Graded  Lessons  in  English. 

Reed  & Kellogg’s  Higher  Lessons  in  English. 
Kellogg’s  Text-Book  on  Rhetoric. 

Kellogg’s  Text-Book  on  English  Literatu 


In  the  preparation  of  this  series  the  authors  have  had  one  obj 
Ciearly  in  view — to  so  develop  the  study  of  the  English  language  a: 
present  a complete,  progressive  course,  from  the  Spelling-Book  to  j 
study  of  English  Literature.  The  troublesome  contradictions  wh 
arise  in  using  books  arranged  by  different  authors  on  these  subjet 
and  which  require  much  time  for  explanation  in  the  school-room,  ' 
be  avoided  by  the  use  of  the  above  “ Complete  Course.” 

Teachers  are  earnestly  invited  to  examine  these  books. 

Effingham  Maynard  <fc  Co.,  Publishers, 

771  Broadway,  New  Yo 


Copyright,  1883,  by  Clark  & Maynard. 


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LIFE  OF  MACAULAY. 

Thomas  Babington  Macaulay,  the  great  historian  of  England,  was 
born  at  Rothley,  near  Leicester,  in  1800,  and  was  named  Thomas  Bab- 
ington after  his  uncle.  Macaulay’s  grandfather  was  a Scotch  minister, 
and  his  father,  Zachary,  after  having  spent  some  time  in  Jamaica, 
returned  to  England,  and  joined  Wilberforce  and  Clarkson  in  their 
efforts  to  abolish  slavery  in  the  British  possessions.  Macaulay  was 
educated  at  Bristol  and  at  Cambridge,  where  he  gained  great  distinction, 
and  twice  won  medals  for  his  poems.  He  was  also  a member  of  the 
Union  Debating  Society,  a famous  club  where  young  politicians  tried 
their  skill  in  the  discussion  of  the  affairs  of  State.  He  took  his  degree 
of  M.A.  in  1825,  was  called  to  the  bar  in  1826,  and  contributed  exten- 
sively to  Knight’s  Quarterly  Magazine , in  which  his  first  literary  efforts 
appeared,  including  among  others  the  ballads  of  “The  Spanish  Ar- 
mada ” and  “ The  Battle  of  Ivry.”  In  1825  he  contributed  to  the  Edin- 
burgh Review  his  celebrated  article  on  Milton,  and  this  was  succeeded 
by  numerous  others  on  various  themes,  historical,  political,  and  literary, 
which  were  afterward  collected  and  published  separately. 

Macaulay  was  a member  of  Parliament  first  for  Colne,  then  for  Leeds, 
and  took  part  in  the  great  discussions  connected  with  the  Keform  Bill 
of  1832.  In  return  for  his  services  to  his  party,  he  was  sent  to  India  in 
L834  as  a member  of  the  Council,  and  while  there  wrote  his  famous 
assays  on  Lord  Clive  and  Warren  Hastings.  In  1839  Macaulay  returned 
A)  England,  was  elected  member  for  Edinburgh,  and,  during  the  eight 
fears  of  his  connection  with  that  city,  held  successively  the  offices  of 
Secretary  at  War  and  Paymaster-General  of  the  Forces.  In  1842  he  gave 
$ the  world  his  spirited  “ Lays  of  Ancient  Rome.”  In  1847  he  displeased 
lis  Edinburgh  supporters,  and  in  a pet  they  rejected  him  ; but  in  1852 
hey  re-elected  him  of  their  own  accord,  and  in  this  way  endeavored  to 
done  for  the  past.  He  devoted  the  interval  between  these  two  dates  to 
lis  History  of  England,  the  first  two  volumes  of  which  were  published 
n 1848,  two  others  making  their  appearance  in  1855.  They  form  a mag- 
lificent  fragment  of  historical  writing,  embracing  a period  of  little  more 
han  twelve  years,  from  the  accession  of  James  II.  to  the  Peace  of  Rys- 
rick,  in  1697.  A fifth  volume,  compiled  from  the  papers  which  he  left 

3 


4 


LIFE  OF  MACAULAY. 


behind,  and  bringing  the  work  down  to  the  death  of  William  III., 
was  published  posthumously  in  1859.  He  retired  from  Parliament  in 
1856,  owing  to  failing  health,  and  in  the  following  year  he  was  created 
a baron  in  consideration  of  his  great  literary  merit.  In  1859  he  died 
suddenly  of  disease  of  the  heart,  and  was  buried  in  Westminster 
Abbey. 

Lord  Macaulay  excelled  as  a poet  and  essayist,  but  he  is  chiefly  illus- 
trious as  a historian.  In  the  opening  chapter  of  his  History  of  England 
the  author  announces  his  intention  to  write  a history  from  the  accession 
of  James  II.  down  to  a time  within  the  memory  of  men  still  living.  Its 
success  was  very  great.  History  was  no  longer  dry  and  uninviting,  for 
Macaulay  had  become  a painter  as  well  as  a chronicler.  The  events  of 
the  past  are  depicted  in  such  fresh  and  striking  coloring  that  they  have 
all  the  interest  of  absolute  novelty.  We  have  life-like  portraits  of  the 
great  men  of  the  age,  landscapes  and  street  scenes,  spirit-stirring  de- 
scriptions of  insurrections  and  trials  and  sieges,  and  graphic  pictures 
of  manners  and  customs.  Macaulay  had  a very  wonderful  memory,  of 
which  he  was  proud,  and  he  was  able  to  collect  and  retain  stores  of  in- 
formation from  all  manner  of  old  books,  papers,  and  parchments,  and 
to  make  use  of  them  in  the  production  of  his  history.  He  is  not  always 
impartial,  but  sufficiently  so  to  be  considered  the  best  authority  on  that 
portion  of  history  with  which  he  deals. 

Macaulay’s  personal  appearance  was  never  better  described  than  in 
two  sentences  of  Praed’s  Introduction  to  Knight’s  Quarterly  Magazine. 
“ There  comes  up  a short  manly  figure,  marvelously  upright,  with  a bad 
neckcloth,  and  one  hand  in  his  waistcoat  pocket.  Of  regular  beauty 
he  had  little  to  boast ; but  in  faces  where  there  is  an  expression  of  great 
power,  or  great  good  humor,  or  both,  you  do  not  regret  its  absence.” 
This  picture,  in  which  every  touch  is  correct,  tells  us  all  that  there  is 
to  be  told.  He  had  a massive  head,  and  features  of  a powerful  and 
rugged  cast ; but  so  constantly  lighted  up  by  every  joyful  and  ennobling 
emotion,  that  it  mattered  little  if,  when  absolutely  quiescent,  his  face 
was  rather  homely  than  handsome.  While  conversing  at  table,  no  one 
thought  him  otherwise  than  good-looking ; but  when  he  rose  he  was 
seen  to  be  short  and  stout  in  figure.  He  at  all  times  sat  and  stood 
straight,  full,  and  square.  He  dressed  badly,  but  not  cheaply.  His 
clothes,  though  ill  put  on,  were  good,  and  his  wardrobe  was  always 
enormously  over-stocked.  Macaulay  was  bored  in  the  best  of  society, 
but  took  unceasing  delight  in  children.  He  was  the  best  of  play- 
fellows unrivaled  in  the  invention  of  games,  and  never  weary  of  repeat- 
ing them. 


LORD  MACAULAY.  1800-1859. 


“I  always  prophesied  his  greatness,  from  the  first  moment  I saw 
him,  then  a very  young  and  unknown  man.  There  are  no  limits  to  his 
knowledge,  on  small  subjects  as  well  as  great.  He  is  like  a book  in 
breeches.” — Sydney  Smith. 


“ His  learning  is  prodigious ; and  perhaps  the  chief  defects  of  his 
composition  arise  from  the  exuberant  riches  of  the  stores  from  which 
they  are  drawn.  When  warmed  in  his  subject,  he  is  thoroughly  in 
earnest,  and  his  language,  in  consequence,  goes  direct  to  the  heart.” — 
Alison. 


u The  exact  style,  the  antitheses  of  ideas,  the  harmonious  construc- 
tion, the  artfully  balanced  paragraphs,  the  vigorous  summaries,  the 
regular  sequence  of  thoughts,  the  frequent  comparisons,  the  fine  ar- 
rangement of  the  whole — not  an  idea  or  phrase  of  his  writings  in  which 
the  talent  and  the  desire  to  explain  does  not  shine  forth.” — Tame. 


“ Behind  the  external  show  and  glittering  vesture  of  his  thoughts — 
beneath  all  his  pomp  of  diction,  aptness  of  illustration,  splendor  of 
imagery,  and  epigrammatic  point  and  glare — a careful  eye  can  easily 
discern  the  movement  of  a powerful  and  cultivated  intellect,  as  it  suc- 
cessively appears  in  the  the  well-trained  logician,  the  discriminating 
critic,  the  comprehensive  thinker,  the  practical  and  far-sighted  states- 
man, and  the  student  of  universal  literature.” — E.  1\  Whipple . 


“ Macaulay’s  essays,  are  remarkable  for  their  brilliant  rhetorical 
power,  their  splendid  tone  of  coloring,  and  their  affluence  of  illustra- 
tion with  a wide  range  of  reading,  and  the  most  docile  and  retentive 
memory.  He  pours  over  his  theme  all  the  treasures  of  a richly-stored 
mind,  and  sheds  light  upon  it  from  all  quarters.  He  excels  in  the 
delineation  of  historical  characters,  and  in  the  art  of  carrying  his 
reader  into  a distant  period  and  reproducing  the  past  with  the  dis- 
tinctness of  the  present.’'’ — George  S.  Hillard , 


5 


PRINCIPAL  WORKS 


Macaulay  excelled  as  a poet,  essayist,  orator,  and  historian. 

As  a Poet:  Of  the  first  fruits  of  our  author’s  poetical  genius  perhaps 
the  most  admired  are  The  Battle  of  Ivry  and  The  Spanish  Armada.  In 
1842,  Macaulay  gave  to  the  world  his  Lays  of  Ancient  Rome,  consisting 
of  the  soul-stirring  narrations  of  “ Horatius  Codes,”  “ Battle  of  Lake 
of  Regillus,”  “ Death  of  Virginia,”  and  “Prophecy  of  Capys.” 

As  an  Essayist:  Macaulay’s  essay  on  Milton,  published  in  the  Edin- 
burgh Review  for  Aug.,  1825,  was  followed  by  essays,  in  all  about  forty, 
from  the  same  pen  for  nearly  a score  of  years,  articles  unsurpassed  in 
varied  and  accurate  learning,  and  in  fervid  eloquence  and  brilliancy, 
by  any  composition  of  the  kind  in  the  English  language.  The  follow- 
ing is  a list  of  the  principal  essays,  with  the  years  of  publication,  for 
the  most  part  published  iu  the  Edinburgh  Review : Milton,  1825  ; Machi- 
avelli,  1827 ; Dryden,  1828 ; History,  1828  ; Ilallam’s  Constitutional 
History,  1828 ; Southey’s  Colloquies  on  Society,  1830  ; Montgomery’s 
Poems,  1830  ; Southey’s  Edition  of  the  The  Bunyan’s  Pilgrim’s  Prog- 
ress, 1830 ; Moore’s  Byron,  1831  ; Boswell’s  Life  of  Dr.  Johnson,  1831 ; 
Nugent’s  Hampden,  1831 ; Lord  Burleigh  and  his  Times,  1832  ; Mira- 
beau,  1832  ; War  of  the  Spanish  Succession,  1833  ; Horace  Walpole, 
1833 ; Earl  of  Chatham,  1834 ; Sir  James  Mackintosh,  1835 ; Lord 
Bacon,  1837 ; Sir  William  Temple,  1838 ; Church  and  State,  1839 ; 
Lord  Clive,  1840  ; Ranke’s  History  of  the  Popes,  1840 ; Comic  Dra- 
matists of  the  Restoration,  1811 ; Lord  Holland,  1841  ; Warren  Hast- 
ings, Oct.,  1841  ; Frederick  the  Great,  1842  ; Madame  D’Arblay,  1843; 
Joseph  Addison,  1843  ; Earl  of  Chatham,  1844  ; Barere’s  Memoirs,  1844  ; 
Athenian  Orators  ; Mitford’s  Greece,  and  Mill’s  Essay  on  Government. 

Biographies  of  Dr.  Johnson,  Bunyan,  William  Pitt,  Goldsmith,  and 
others,  written  for  the  eighth  edition  of  the  Encyclopedia  Britannica 
(1857-8),  were  among  the  latest  productions  of  Macaulay’s  pen. 

As  an  Orator:  Macaulay’s  speeches,  parliamentary  and  miscellane- 
ous, number  nearly  one  hundred,  generally  held  to  be  some  of  the 
most  eloquent  and  instructive  ever  delivered  before  the  English 
public. 

As  a Historian : In  1848  appeared  the  first  two  volumes  of  Macaulay’s 

6 


REFERENCES. 


7 


story  of  England y “from  the  accession  of  King  James  the  Second 
wn  to  a time  which  is  within  the  memory  of  men  still  living.”  The 
ird  and  fourth  volumes  were  issued  in  1855.  The  success  of  these 
lumes  was  great  and  immediate.  A fifth  volume,  .comprising  all 
it  he  left  ready  for  the  press,  and  bringing  the  work  down  to  the 
d of  the  year  1701,  was  published  after  his  death.  The  great  work 
as  remains  a fragment  of  that  originally  projected. 


REFERENCES. 

For  any  desired  information  concerning  Macaulay  and  his  writings, 
nsult,  besides  the  ordinary  reference  books,  Trevelyan’s  Life  of 
icaulay,  a work  of  the  deepest  interest  and  full  of  all  manner  of 
tails  about  the  personal  life  of  England’s  great  historian.  There  is 
ittle  book  by  Adams,  called  Life  Sketches  of  Macaiday , interesting 
units  anecdotes  and  sketches  of  Macaulay’s  personal  career.  E. 
Whipple  has  written  one  of  the  ablest  criticisms  of  Macaulay’s 
iracteristics  as  an  essayist  which  has  ever  been  published.  This 
icle,  from  which  we  quote  elsewhere,  and  for  which  Macaulay 
pressed  great  admiration,  can  be  found  in  the  first  volume  of  Whip- 
;’s  Essays.  See  also  a scholarly  essay  by  Peter  Bayne  ; consult  very 
1 articles  in  “Allibone,”  the  “Encyclopedia  Britannica,”  and  the 
merous  references  in  Poole’s  Index  to  Periodical  Literature. 


Iote . — As  an  introduction  to  the  study  of  this  essay,  the.  student  will  do  well 
*ead  the  whole  or  parts  of  Macaulay’s  article  on  Lord  Clive,  or  the  principal 
nts  may  be  given  orally  by  the  teacher.  A map  of  India,  locating  the  chief 
ces  of  interest  at  the  time  of  Clive  and  Hastings,  should  be  drawn  by  the 
fils  on  the  blackboard  and  elsewhere  as  progress  is  made  in  studying  the 
>ject.  The  Student's  Hume  and  Green’s  Short  History  of  the  English  People 
1 prove  of  great  help  in  explaining  the  historical  and  other  references, 
lost  of  the  larger  “Speakers,”  compiled  for  school  use,  contain  selections 
m the  great  orations  delivered  by  Sheridan  and  Bnrke,  during  the  trial  of 
stings.  Such  extracts  are  of  special  interest  in  connection  with  the  study  of 
succeeding  text. 


Macaulay  and  his  works. 

TOPICS  OF  INQUIRY. 

1.  Give  some  details  of  Macaulay’s  early  life.  2.  Anecdotes  illustrating  h 
precocity.  3.  Incidents  showing  his  early  love  for  books  and  reading.  4.  Son 
details  of  his  wonderful  memory  and  his  capacity  for  taking  in  at  a glance  tl 
contents  of  a printed  page.  (Trevelyan’s  Life,  Yol.  I.  ch.  i.)  5.  His  career 
Cambridge  University.  6.  The  study  of  law  and  his  literary  work  for  Knight 
quarterly  Magazine . 7.  Incidents  which  led  Macaulay  to  write  his  essay  < 
Milton  for  the  Edinburgh  Review— its  success.  8.  Mention  the  subjects 
Macaulay’s  most  important  essays  contributed  for  many  years  to  the  same  pe: 
odical.  9.  What  are  the  chief  characteristics  of  these  celebrated  essays  ? 1 
What  political  honors  were  conferred  upon  Macaulay  ? 11.  His  appointment 
an  office  in  India  and  his  residence  in  that  country.  12.  His  return  to  Englan 
and  subsequent  career  in  Parliament.  13.  What  fine  martial  ballads  were  pu; 
lished  in  1842  ? 14.  When  was  his  History  first  published  ?— its  success  ? ] 
Give  some  details  of  the  scope  of  this  work.  16.  What  can  you  tell  of  Macai 
lay’s  career  as  a public  speaker  ? 17.  The  death  of  the  great  historian  in  185: 
18.  Macaulay’s  style— its  prominent  characteristics  ? 19.  What  adverse  cri! 
cisms  have  been  made  on  his  writings  ? 20.  How  will  you  account  for  tl 
remarkable  popularity  of  all  that  Macaulay  has  written  ? 21.  Personal  life 
Macaulay— its  chief  characteristics?  22.  Incidents  and  anecdotes  to  illustra 
the  same.  23.  Macaulay’s  opinion  of  famous  men  and  books.  (Cf.  Trevelyai 

24.  What  led  Macaulay  to  write  the  essays  on  Lord  Clive  and  Warren  Hasting 
25.  Give  in  outline  a few  points  in  the  lives  of  these  two  celebrated  men.  £j 
Quote  what  Macaulay  himself  said  about  them.  27.  Draw  on  the  blackboai 
or  elsewhere,  a map  of  India,  locating  the  places  of  interest  as  noted 
this  essay.  28.  Give  in  outline  a few  important  events  in  the  history 
India  before  the  time  of  Hastings.  29.  Work  up  in  some  detail  the  follow! 
topics,  giving  in  substance  passages  omitted  in  the  succeeding  pages:  Nuncomr 
Sir  Philip  Francis,  Hyder  Ali,  and  Impey,  the  infamous  judge.  30.  Topics  I 
collateral  reading : Lord  Clive,  “ Black  Hole,”  East  India  Company,  Mog 
Empire,  Sheridan’s  Oration,  Burke’s  Oration,  Lord  North,  William  Pitt,  “T: 
Junius  Letters,”  British  India,  Critical  State  of  the  British  Empire  During  tj 
time  of  Hastings,  Result  of  England’s  foreign  policy  on  the  American  colon i^ 
31.  What  criticisim  has  been  made,  and  what  can  you  make,  on  Macaula; 
description  of  the  trial  of  Hastings  ? 32.  What  do  you  think  of  Warr! 

Hastings  ?— as  a governor-general  ?— as  a man  ? Give  your  reasons  for  such  \ 
opinion. 


8 


WARREN  HASTINGS. 


“ Macaulay’s  splendid  biographies  of  Clive  and  Hastings,  by  much  the 
inest  productions  of  the  kind  in  the  English  language.” — Alison. 

“ Macaulay’s  faithful  but  brilliant  studies  (Lord  Clive  and  Warren 
Hastings)  of  our  Eastern  empire  are  to  this  day  incomparably  the  most 
popular  of  his  works.” — Trevelyan. 


PREFATORY  NOTE. 

It  was  in  India,  on  the  spot,  that  Macaulay  collected  the  facts  which 
le  worked  up  in  so  interesting  and  picturesque  a manner  in  his  essays 
m Lord  Clive  and  Warren  Hastings.  The  great  essayist  took  special 
nterest  and  pride  in  his  India  articles,  and  in  his  private  correspond- 
ence says  : “ The  paper  on  Lord  Clive  took  greatly.  That  on  Warren 
Hastings,  though  in  my  own  opinion  by  no  means  equal  to  that  on 
Jlive,  has  been  even  more  successful.”  Both  of  these  able  essays  have 
been  uniformly  popular  with  the  public.  When  published  in  separate 
forms,  Clive  and  Hastings  have  sold  nearly  twice  as  well  as  the  articles 
on  the  Earl  of  Chatham,  nearly  three  times  as  well  as  the  essay  on  Ad- 
lison,  and  nearly  five  times  as  well  as  the  article  on  Byron.  In  a letter 
written  to  the  editor  of  the  Edinburgh  Review , Macaulay  outlined  his 
proposed  paper  on  Warren  Hastings.  It  is  interesting  and  instructive 
n connection  with  the  study  of  the  succeeding  text.  He  says  : “I  am 
not  quite  sure  that  so  vast  a subject  may  not  bear  two  articles.  The 
scene  of  the  first  would  lie  principally  in  India.  The  Rohilla  War,  the 
lisputes  of  Hastings  and  his  Council,  the  character  of  Francis,  the 
ieath  of  Nuncomar,  the  rise  of  the  empire  of  Hyder  Ali,  the  seizure  of 
Benares,  and  many  other  interesting  matters,  would  furnish  out  such  a 
naper.  In  the  second,  the  scene  would  be  changed  to  Westminster. 
There  we  should  have  the  Coalition  ; the  India  Bill  ; the  impeach- 
nent ; the  characters  of  the  noted  men  of  that  time,  from  Burke,  who 
nanaged  the  prosecution  of  Hastings,  down  to  the  wretched  Ton} 
Pasquin,  who  first  defended  and  then  libeled  him.  I hardly  know  u 
1*  9 


10 


WARREN  HASTINGS. 


story  so  interesting,  and  of  such  various  interests.  And  the  central 
figure  is  in  the  highest  degree  striking  and  interesting.  I think  War- 
ren Hastings,  though  far  from  faultless,  one  of  the  greatest  men  that 
England  ever  produced.  He  had  pre-eminent  talents  for  government 
and  great  literary  attainments  too ; fine  tastes,  a princely  spirit,  and 
heroic  equanimity  in  the  midst  of  adversity  and  danger.  “ Mens  aequa 
in  arduis  ” (a  mind  serene  amid  difficulties)  is  the  inscription  under  his 
picture  in  the  Government  Hall  at  Calcutta,  and  never  was  a more  ap- 
propriate motto.  The  story  has  never  been  told  as  it  deserves.  The 
success  of  my  paper  on  Clive  has  emboldened  me.”  As  a result  of  this 
literary  correspondence,  the  essay  on  Warren  Hastings  was  published 
in  the  Edinburgh  Review  for  October,  1841.  It  has  been  universally  ad- 
mired for  its  style,  of  the  greatest  force  and  picturesqueness— full  of 
allusion,  illustration,  grace,  clearness  and  point. 


His  Early  Life. — Warren  Hastings  sprang  from  an  ancient 
and  illustrious  race.  It  has  been  affirmed  that  his  pedigree 
can  be  traced  back  to  the  great  Danish  sea-king  whose  sails 
were  long  the  terror  of  both  coasts  of  the  British  Channel,  and 
who,  after  many  fierce  and  doubtful  struggles,  yielded  at  last 
to  the  valor  and  genius  of  Alfred.  But  the  undoubted  splen- 
dor of  the  line  of  Hastings  needs  no  illustration  from  fable. 
One  branch  of  that  line  wore,  in  the  fourteenth  century,  the 
coronet  of  Pembroke.  From  another  branch  sprung  the  re- 
io  nowned  Chamberlain,  the  faithful  adherent  of  the  White  Hose, 
whose  fate  has  furnished  so  striking  a theme  both  to  poets  and  , 


Note.— The  length  of  the  entire  essay  on  Warren  Hastings  is  such  that  the 

Editor  has  been  compelled  to  abridge  the  same.  Several  paragraphs  Cf  no 
special  interest,  certain  sections  of  historical  details  and  sundry  passages  criti- 
cising Mr.  Gleig,  the  biographer  of  Hastings,  have  been  omitted.  The  essay  in 
its  abridged  form  is  complete  in  itself,  and  no  part  of  Macaulay’s  language  has 
in  any  respect  been  changed. 

3.  Danish  Sea-King:  Hasting  or  Hastings,  a daring  and  successful 

Danish  sea-king,  defeated  after  many  fierce  conflicts  by  King  Alfred,  and  driven 

out  of  England  "in  896. 

6.  Alfred  (848  or  849-901)  : surnamed  the  Great,  King  of  the  West  Saxons, , 
afterwar'* * 3 * * 6 sovereign  of  all  England.  Consult.  Hughes’s  Alfred  the  GreatM 
Freeman’s  Norman  Conquest , vol.  1,  ch.  ii,  and  Hume’s  England,  vol.  1,  ch.  ii.  I 

10.  White  Rose:  The  war  of  the  Roses,  between  the  Lancastrians  (who 
chose  the  red  rose  as  their  emblem),  and  the  Yorkists  (who  chose  the  white! 
rose),  began  1455  and  ended  1485.  See  reference  in  Shakespeare,  in  I.  Henry 
VI.,  act  ii.,  sc.  4.  The  contest  between  King  Charles  I.  and  Parliament  resulted® 
in  a Civil  War,  which  began  when  the  king  set  up  his  standard  at  Nottingham! 
(1642).  It  resulted  in  the  execution  of  the  king  in  1649,  and  the  establishment 
of  the  Commonwealth  under  the  Protectorate  of  Oliver  Cromwell  (1653) . 


WARBEN  HASTINGS. 


11 


to  historians.  His  family  received  from  the  Tudors  the  earl- 
dom of  Huntingdon,  which,  after  a long  dispossession,  was  re- 
gained in  our  time  by  a series  of  events  scarcely  paralleled  in 
romance. 

The  lords  of  the  manor  of  Daylesford,  in  Worcestershire, 
claimed  to  be  considered  as  the  heads  of  this  distinguished 
family.  The  main  stock,  indeed,  prospered  less  than  some  of 
the  younger  shoots.  But  the  Daylesford  family,  though  not 
ennobled,  was  wealthy  and  highly  considered,  till  about  two  20 
hundred  years  ago,  it  was  overwhelmed  by  the  great  ruin  of 
the  civil  war.  The  old  seat  at  Daylesford  still  remained  in  the 
family;  but  it  could  no  longer  be  kept  up;  and  in  the  follow- 
ing generation  it  was  sold  to  a merchant  of  London. 

Before  this  transfer  took  place,  the  last  Hastings  of  Daylesford 
had  presented  his  second  son  to  the  rectory  of  the  parish  in  which 
the  ancient  residence  of  the  family  stood.  The  living  was  of  little 
value;  and  the  situation  of  the  poor  clergyman,  after  the  sale 
of  the  estate,  was  deplorable.  He  was  constantly  engaged  in 
lawsuits  about  his  tithes  with  the  new  lord  of  the  manor,  and  30 
was  at  length  utterly  ruined.  His  second  son,  Pynaston,  an 
idle,  worthless  boy,  married  before  he  was  sixteen,  lost  his 
Wife  in  two  years,  and  died  in  the  West  Indies,  leaving  to  the 
care  of  his  unfortunate  father  a little  orphan,  destined  to  strange 
and  memorable  vicissitudes  of  fortune. 

Warren,  the  son  of  Pynaston,  was  born  on  the  6tli  of  Decem- 
ber, 1732.  His  mother  died  a few  days  later,  and  he  was  left 
dependent  on  his  distressed  grandfather.  The  child  was  early 
sent  to  the  village  school,  where  he  learned  his  letters  on  the 
same  bench  with  the  sons  of  the  peasantry.  But  no  cloud  4° 
could  overcast  the  dawn  of  so  much  genius  and  so  much  am- 
bition. The  daily  sight  of  the  lands  which  his  ancestors  had 
possessed,  and  which  had  passed  into  the  hands  of  strangers, 
filled  his  young  brain  with  wild  fancies  and  projects.  He  loved 
to  hear  stories  of  the  wealth  and  greatness  of  his  progenitors, 


12.  Tudors  : The  House  of  Tudor  ruled  England  from  the  accession  of  Henry 
VII.  to  the  death  of  Elizabeth  in  1(303, 


12 


WARREN  HASTINGS. 


of  their  splendid  housekeeping,  their  loyalty,  and  their  valor. 
On  one  bright  summer  day,  the  boy,  then  just  seven  years  old, 
lay  on  the  bank  of  the  rivulet  which  flows  through  the  old  do- 
main of  his  house  to  join  the  Isis.  There,  as  threescore  and  ten 
50  years  later  he  told  the  tale,  rose  in  his  mind  a scheme  which,  j 
through  all  the  turns  of  his  eventful  career,  was  never  aban- 
doned. He  would  recover  the  estate  which  had  belonged  to 
his  fathers.  He  would  be  Hastings  of  Daylesford.  This  pur- 
pose, formed  in  infancy  and  poverty,  grew  stronger  as  his  in- 
tellect expanded  and  as  his  fortune  rose.  He  pursued  his  plan  S 
with  that  calm  but  indomitable  force  of  will  which  was  the  j 
most  striking  peculiarity  of  his  character.  When,  under  a 
tropical  sun,  he  ruled  fifty  millions  of  Asiatics,  his  hopes, 
amidst  all  the  cares  of  war,  finance,  and  legislation,  still  pointed 
60  to  Daylesford.  And  when  his  long  public  life,  so  singularly  j 
checkered  with  good  and  evil,  with  glory  and  obloquy,  had  at 
length  closed  forever,  it  was  to  Daylesford  that  he  retired  to 
die. 

When  he  was  eight  years  old,  his  uncle  Howard  determined 
to  take  charge  of  him,  and  to  give  him  a liberal  education. 
The  boy  went  up  to  London,  and  was  sent  to  a school  at 
Newington,  where  he  was  well  taught,  but  ill  fed.  He  always 
attributed  the  smallness  of  his  stature  to  the  hard  and  scanty 
fare  of  this  seminary.  At  ten  he  was  removed  to  Westminster 
70  school. 

Warren  was  distinguished  among  his  comrades  as  an  excel-1 
lent  swimmer,  boatman,  and  scholar.  At  fourteen  he  was  first 
in  the  examination  for  the  foundation.  His  name  in  gilded 
letters  on  the  walls  of  the  dormitory  still  attests  his  victory 
over  many  older  competitors.  He  stayed  two  years  longer  at  the 
school,  and  wTas  looking  forward  to  a studentship  at  Christ 
Church,  when  an  event  happened  which  changed  the  whole 
course  of  his  life.  Howard  Hastings  died,  bequeathing  his 

70.  Westminster  School:  A large  school  in  London  founded  by  Queen 
Elizabeth. 

77.  Christ,  Church  : Largest  of  all  the  Oxford  colleges,  founded  by  Car- 
dinal Wolsey  in  1525. 


WARREK  HASTINGS. 


13 


lephew  to  the  care  of  a friend  and  distant  relation,  named 
Chiswick.  This  gentleman,  though  lie  did  not  -absolutely  80 
•efuse  the  charge,  was  desirous  to  rid  himself  of  it  as  soon  as 
lossible.  He  had  it  in  his  power  to  obtain  for  the  lad  a writer- 
;hip  in  the  service  of  the  East  India  Company.  Whether  the 
rnung  adventurer,  when  once  shipped  off,  made  a fortune,  or 
lied  of  a liver  complaint,  he  equally  ceased  to  be  a burden  to 
tnybody.  Warren  was  accordingly  removed  from  Westminster 
chool,  and  placed  for  a few  months  at  a commercial  academjq 
o study  arithmetic  and  book-keeping.  In  January,  1750,  a few 
lays  after  he  had  completed  his  seventeenth  year,  he  sailed  for 
lengal,  and  arrived  at  his  destination  in  the  October  follow- 90 
ng. 

He  was  immediately  placed  at  a desk  in  the  Secretary’s 
•ffice  at  Calcutta,  and  labored  there  during  two  years. 

After  two  years  passed  in  keeping  accounts  at  Calcutta, 
Tastings  was  sent  up  the  country  to  Cossimbazar,  a town 
?hich  lies  on  the  Hoogly,  about  a mile  from  Moorshedabad. 


82.  Writersliip:  The  establishment  of  each  principal  and  independent  seat 
r trade,  in  India,  consisted  of  merchants , senior  and  junior,  who  conducted 
le  trade  ; factors , who  ordered  goods,  inspected  and  dispatched  them  • and 
inters,  who  were  clerks  and  book-keepers.  A writer  after  five  years  became  a 
ictor,  after  three  years  more  a merchant.  From  the  senior  merchants  the 
lembers  of  council  were  chosen,  am!  one  of  these  last  was  selected  as  vresi- 
°M  of  the  factory.  The  place  where  the  factor  carried  on  business  was  called 
factory. 

83.  East  India  Company:  The  original  charter  of  this  company  was 
canted  to  a number  of  London  merchants  by  Queen  Elizabeth  in  1600  The 
rnits  were  enormous,  giving  the  exclusive  right  to  trade  in  the  whole  of  the 
ldian  and  Pacific  oceans.  The  charter  was  renewed  from  time  to  time  with 
inous  modifications  About  1612,  the  company  obtained  permission  from 
;veral  native  princes  to  establish  factories  or  agencies  on  the  coast  of  Hin^o«- 
n.  The  first  beginning  of  Madras  dates  in  1640,  of  Calcutta  in  1645  and  of 
ombay  in  1665,  as  chief  establishments  of  the  company.  In  1662,  Charles  IL 
ive  permission  to  the  company  “ to  make  war  and  peace  on  the  native  princes  ” 
a privilege  of  which  it  was  not  slow  to  avail  itself  for  nearly  two  centuries.  A 
institution  was  established  in  1702  which  was  maintained  with  little  alteration 

. long  as  the  company  existed.  The  company  obtained  a renewal  of  its  char- 
times,  but  its  powers  was  irraduali}''  lessened,  until,  by  the  act  of 
o»,  the  whole  of  the  company’s  powers  were  transferred  to  the  crown. 

. Bengal:  At  this  time  only  the  country  between  the  B >glipoor  and  the 

IMMlOrol  T .... T> 1 .V.  il.  _ 1 i 


ira^la  C1f  -a  • of  British  Ind'aand  of  Bengal,  the  largest  emporium 

trade  m Asia,  is  situated  on  the  Hoogly,  eighty  miles  from  the  sea. 

96.  Hoogly  or  HoogUly  : A branch  of  the  Ganges  at  its  delta.  Two  hun- 


14 


WARREST  HASTINGS, 


This  was  the  abode  of  the  prince  who,  by  an  authority  ostensi- 
bly derived  from  the  Mogul,  but  really  independent,  ruled  the 
three  great  provinces  of  Bengal,  Orissa,  and  Bahar.  Here, 
10©  during  several  years,  Hastings  was  employed  in  making  bargains 
for  stuffs  with  native  brokers.  While  he  was  thus  engaged, 
Surajah  Dowlah  succeeded  to  the  government,  and  declared 
war  against  the  English.  The  defenseless  settlement  of  Cos- 
simbazar,  lying  close  to  the  tyrant’s  capital,  was  instantly 
seized.  Hastings  was  sent  a prisoner  to  Moorshedabad,  but, 
in  consequence  of  the  humane  intervention  of  the  servants  of 
the  Dutch  Company,  was  treated  with  indulgence.  Meanwhile 
the  nabob  marched  on  Calcutta;  the  governor  and  the  com- 
mandant fled ; the  town  and  citadel  were  taken,  and  most  of 
no  the  English  prisoners  perished  in  the  Black  Hole. 

In  these  events  originated  the  greatness  of  Warren  Hastings.  He 
soon  established  a high  character  for  ability  and  resolution.  He  be- 
came a member  of  Council  in  1761,  returned  to  England  in  1764,  and 
remained  at  home  four  years.  Of  his  life  at  this  time  very  little  is 
known.  Hastings  soon  began  to  look  again  toward  India.  He  had 
little  to  attach  him  to  England,  and  his  pecuniary  embarrassments 
were  great.  The  Directors  appointed  him  a member  of  Council  at 
Madras.  In  the  spring  of  1769,  he  embarked  for  India  on  board  of  the 
Duke  of  Grafton. 

Read  the  full  text  for  the  romantic  affair  with  a lady,  “ his  elegant 
Marian,”  who,  afterward  as  Hastings's  wife,  wielded  great  influence 
over  her  celebrated  husband. 


dred  miles  long  ; its  mouth  is  ten  miles  across.  It  is  the  only  branch  of  the 
Ganges  navigated  by  large  vessels,  and  is  the  only  one  in  the  delta  held  sacred 
by  the  Hindoos. 

98.  Mogul : A corruption  of  Mongol , or  Mongolian . The  name  commonly 
applied  to  the  empire  founded  in  Hindostan  in  the  15th  century  by  Baber,  a 
descendant  of  Timor  or  Tamerlane.  Although  not  a Mongolian  himself,  Babers 
empire  became  generally  known  in  Europe  as  the  Mogul  tCmpire.  and  the 
reigning  sovereign  was  popularly  called  “ The  Great  Mogul.”  After  the  death 
of  the  great  ruler,  Aurungzebe,  in  1707,  the  empire  began  to  decline.  The  last 
sovereign  died,  a pensioner  of  England,  in  1800. 

99.  Bahar : a province  of  Western  Bengal.  Orissa,  a province  to  the  south 
of  Bengal,  during  Clive’s  rule. 

1'10.  Black  Hole:  This  horrible  catastrophe,  by  which  the  nabob  caused 
the  whole  of  the  prisoners  taken,  146  in  number,  to  be  confined  in  an  apartment 
twenty  feet  square— the  “ Black  Hole  of  Calcutta,”  took  place  on  the  night  of 
the  18th  of  June,  1756.  The  room  had  only  two  small  windows,  and  these  were 
obstructed  by  a veranda.  The  crush  of  the  unhappy  sufferers  was  dreadful ; 
and  after  a night  of  agony  from  pressure,  heat,  thirst,  and  want  of  air.  there 
were  in  the  morning  only  twenty-three  survivors,  the  ghastliest  forms  ever  seen 
on  earth.  Read  Macaulay’s  famous  pen  picture  of  this  atrocious  deed  in  his 
“ Lord  Clive,”  beginning  “ Then  was  committed  that  great  crime,”  etc. 


WARREN  HASTINGS. 


15 


State  of  Affairs  in  India.— Hastings  found  the  affairs  of  the 
Company  in  a very  disorganized  state  on  his  arrival.  In  a very 
ew  months  he  effected  an  important  reform.  The  Directors 
lotified  to  him  their  high  approbation,  and  were  so  much 
deased  with  his  conduct  that  they  determined  to  place  him  at 
he  head  of  the  Government  of  Bengal.  Early  in  1772  he 
plitted  Fort  St.  George  for  his  new  post. 

When  Hastings  took  his  seat  at  the  head  of  the  Council  - 
>oard,  Bengal  was  still  governed  according  to  the  system  which 
llive  had  devised.  There  were  two  governments,  the  real  120 
md  the  ostensible.  The  supreme  power  belonged  to  the  Com- 
)any,  and  was  in  truth  the  most  despotic  power  that  can  be 
ionceived. 

There  was  still  a nabob  of  Bengal  who  lived  at  Moorsheda- 
>ad,  surrounded  by  princely  magnificence.  He  was  approached 
vitli  outward  marks  of  reverence,  and  his  name  was  used  in 
>ublic  instruments.  But  in  the  government  of  the  country  he 
iad  less  real  share  than  the  youngest  writer  or  cadet  in  the 
Company’s  service. 

The  internal  government  of  Bengal  the  English  rulers  dele-  i3o 
rated  to  a great  native  minister,  who  was  stationed  at  Moor- 
shedabad.  All  military  affairs,  and,  with  the  exception  of  what 
certains  to  mere  ceremonial,  all  foreign  affairs,  were  withdrawn 
Tom  his  control  ; but  the  other  departments  of  the  adminis- 
;ration  were  entirely  confided  to  him.  His  own  stipend  amounted 


120.  Lord  Clive  (1725-1774).— Founder  of  the  British  Empire  in  India,  a skill- 
ul  general  and  sagacious  statesman.  Clive  entered  the  service  of  the  East 
ndia  Company  as  ensign  in  1747.  By  his  courage  and  sagacity  he  rose  rapidly 
o distinction.  Returned  to  England  in  1753  and  sent  back  as  governor  of  Port 
iaint  David  in  1755.  The  next  year,  Surajah  Dow lah.  Nabob  of  Bengal,  cap- 
nred  the  English  garrison  of  Fort  William  and  smothered  them  in  the  “Black 
lole”  of  Calcutta.  Clive  was  sent  to  avenge  this  outrage.  The  fate  of  India 
vas  decided  at  the  battle  of  Plassey  (1757),  where  Clive,  with  3.000  men,  defeated 
ibout  60,000  of  the  enemy.  Surajah  was  deposed  and  put  to  death.  After  this 
victory,  by  which  the  British  rule  was  firmly  established  in  India,  Clive  was 
ippointed  governor  of  Bengal.  In  1760,  he  returned  to  England,  immensely 
ich  and  was  raised  to  the  Irish  peerage  as  Lord  Clive,  Baron  of  Plassey.  He 
vas  elected  to  Parliament  and  acquired  great  influence.  Clive  was  sent  to 
ndia  in  1764,  with  supreme  command,  but  returned  in  1767.  He  was  arraigned 
)y  the  House  for  abusing  his  power  in  the  acquisition  of  riches,  but  the  charge 
vas  not  sustained.  He  died  by  suicide  in  1774.  The  reader  is  referred  to 
VTacanlay’s  masterly  essay  on  “ Lord  Clive,”  as  collateral  reading  in  connection 
with  the  study  of  Warren  Hastings. 


16 


WARREN  HASTINGS. 


to  near  a hundred  thousand  pounds  sterling  a year.  The  per- 
sonal allowance  of  the  nabob,  amounting  to  more  than  three 
hundred  thousand  pounds  a year,  passed  through  the  minister's 
hands,  and  was,  to  a great  extent,  at  his  disposal.  The  collec-  ; 
i4otion  of  the  revenue,  the  administration  of  justice,  the  mainte- 
nance of  order,  were  left  to  this  high  functionary  ; and  for  the 
exercise  of  his  immense  power  lie  was  responsible  to  none  but 
the  British  masters  of  the  country. 

A situation  so  important,  lucrative,  and  splendid,  was  natu- 
rally an  object  of  ambition  to  the  ablest  and  most  powerful 
natives.  Clive  had  found  it  difficult  to  decide  between  con- 
flicting pretensions.  Two  candidates  stood  out  prominently 
from  the  crowd,  each  of  them  the  representative  of  a race  and 
of  a religion. 

15°  One  of  these  was  Mahommed  Reza  Khan,  a Mussulman  of 
Persian  extraction,  able,  active,  religious  after  the  fashion  of 
his  people,  and  highly  esteemed  by  them. 

His  competitor  was  a Hindoo  Brahmin,  whose  name  has,  by 
a terrible  and  melancholy  event,  been  inseparably  associated 
with  that  of  Warren  Hastings,  the  Maharajah  Nuncomar. 

Clive  decided  in  favor  of  the  first. 

When  Hastings  became  governor,  Mahommed  Reza  Khan  had  held 
power  seven  years.  Through  the  intrigues  of  Nuncomar,  the  Direct- 
ors were  influenced  to  order  Hastings  to  arrest  Reza  Khan  and  make  a 
strict  inquiry  into  the  whole  administration  of  the  province.  This  gave 
Hastings'  an  opportunity  to  carry  into  effect  what  he  had  long  planned  to 
do — to  dissolve  the  double  government.  The  office  of  minister  was  abol- 
ished. The  internal  administration  was  transferred  to  the  servants  of 
the  Company.  The  nabob  was  no  longer  to  have  even  an  ostensible 
share  in  the  government ; but  he  was  still  to  receive  a considerable 
annual  allowance,  and  to  be  surrounded  with  the  state  of  sovereignty. 
Some  important  office  was  given  to  Nuncomar’s  son  ; but  the  wily 
Hindoo  soon  found  that  Hastings  had  made  a tool  of  him.  It  was 
natural  that  the  governor  should  be  from  that  time  an  object  of  the 
most  intense  hatred  to  the  vindictive  Brahmin.  As  yet,  however,  it 
was  necessary  to  suppress  such  feelings.  The  time  was  coming  when 
that  long  animosity  was  to  end  in  a desperate  and  deadly  struggle. 


Extortion  of  Money, — In  the  meantime,  Hastings  was  com- 
pelled to  turn  his  attention  to  foreign  affairs.  The  object  of 
his  diplomacy  was  at  this  time  simply  to  get  money.  The 


WARREN  HASTINGS. 


17 


finances  of  his  government  were  in  an  embarrassed  state ; and  160 
this  embarrassment  he  was  determined  to  relieve  by  some 
means,  fair  or  foul.  One  thing,  indeed,  is  to  be  said  in  excuse 
for  him.  The  pressure  applied  to  him  by  his  employers  at 
home  was  such  as  only  the  highest  virtue  could  have  withstood, 
such  as  left  him  no  choice  except  to  commit  great  wrongs,  or 
to  resign  his  high  post,  and  with  that  post  all  his  hopes  of  for- 
tune and  distinction.  The  Directors,  it  is  true,  never  enjoined 
or  applauded  any  crime.  Far  from  it.  Whoever  examines 
their  letters  written  at  that  time  will  find  there  many  just  and 
humane  sentiments,  many  excellent  precepts — in  short,  an  ad- 17° 
mirable  code  of  political  ethics. 

Hastings  saw  that  it  was  absolutely  necessary  for  him  to  dis- 
regard either  the  moral  discourses  or  the  pecuniary  requisitions 
of  his  employers.  Being  forced  to  disobey  them  in  something, 
he  had  to  consider  what  kind  of  disobedience  they  would  most 
readily  pardon;  and  he  correctly  judged  that  the  safest  course 
would  be  to  neglect  the  sermons  and  to  find  the  rupees. 

A mind  so  fertile  as  his,  and  so  little  restrained  by  conscien- 
tious scruples,  speedily  discovered  several  modes  of  relieving 
the  financial  embarrassments  of  the  Government.  The  allow- 180 
ance  of  the  Nabob  of  Bengal  was  reduced  at  a stroke  from 
three  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  pounds  a year  to  half  that 
sum.  The  Company  had  bound  itself  to  pay  near  three  hun- 
dred thousand  pounds  a year  to  the  Great  Mogul,  as  a mark  of 
homage  for  the  provinces  which  he  had  intrusted  to  their  care, 
and  they  had  ceded  to  him  the  districts  of  Corah  and  Alla- 
habad. On  the  plea  that  the  Mogul  was  not  really  independent, 
but  merely  a tool  in  the  hands  of  others,  Hastings  determined 
to  retract  these  concessions.  He  accordingly  declared  that  the 
English  would  pay  no  more  tribute,  and  sent  troops  to  occupy  I9Q 
Allahabad  and  Corah.  The  situation  of  these  places  was  such 
that  there  would  be  little  advantage  and  great  expense  in  re- 

17?.  Rupees.— The  rupee  is  an  Indian  silver  coin,  worth  at  this  time  about 
two  shillings. 

186.  Corah  and  Allahalbad. — Districts  and  cities  in  the  north-west  provin 
ces  of  Inc'ia,  about  500  miles  N.  W.  from  Calcutta. 


18 


WARREN  HASTINGS. 


taining  them.  Hastings,  who  wanted  money  and  not  territory, 
determined  to  sell  them.  A purchaser  was  not  wanting.  The 
rich  province  of  Oude  had,  in  the  general  dissolution  of  the 
Mogul  Empire,  fallen  to  the  share  of  the  great  Mussulman 
house  by  which  it  is  still  governed.  The  Prince  of  Oude, 
though  he  held  the  power,  did  not  venture  to  use  the  style  of 
sovereignty.  To  the  appellation  of  nabob *  * or  viceroy  he  added 
200  that  of  vizier  of  the  monarchy  of  Hindostan.  Sujah  Dowlah, 
then  nabob  vizier,  was  on  excellent  terms  with  the  English. 
He  had  a large  treasure.  Allahabad  and  Corah  were  so  situ- 
ated that  they  might  be  of  use  to  him,  and  could  be  of  none 
to  the  Company.  The  buyer  and  seller  soon  came  to  an  under- 
standing ; and  the  provinces  which  had  been  torn  from  the 
Mogul  were  made  over  to  the  Government  of  Oude  for  about 
half  a million  sterling. 

Subjugation  of  the  Brave  Rohillas. — But  there  was  another 
matter  still  more  important  to  be  settled  by  the  vizier  and  the 
210  governor.  The  fate  of  a brave  people  was  to  be  decided.  It 
was  decided  in  a manner  which  has  left  a lasting  stain  on  the 
fame  of  Hastings  and  of  England. 

The  people  of  Central  Asia  had  always  been  to  the  inhab- 
itants of  India  what  the(warriors  of  the  German  forests  were 
to  the  subjects  of  the  decaying  monarchy  of  Home. ) The  dark, 
slender,  and  timid  Hindoo  shrunk  from  a conflict  with  the 
strong  muscle  and  resolute  spirit  of  the  fair  race  which  dwelt 
beyond  the  passes. 

The  Emperors  of  Hindostan  themselves  came  from  the  other 
220  side  of  the  great  mountain  ridge  ; and  it  had  always  been  their 
practice  to  recruit  their  army  from  the  hardy  and  valiant  race 
from  which  their  own  illustrious  house  sprung.  Among  the 
military  adventurers  who  were  allured  to  the  Mogul  standards 


195.  Oude.— A rich  and  prosperous  province  of  India,  N.  W.  of  Bengal  and 
south  of  the  Himalaya  mountains.  J 

* The  word  nabob  is  from  the  Hindoo,  nawab , a deputy,  or  a governor,  under 
the  Mogul  empire.  Oriirinally,  “ anative  prince,”  but  the  word  came  to  be  ap- 
plied  to  any  European  who  had  amassed  wealth  in  the  East.  Cl.  an  amusing 
passage  toward  the  end  of  Macaulay’s  essay  on  Lord  Clive. 


WARREN  HASTINGS. 


19 


from  the  neighborhood  of  Cabul  and  Candahar,  were  conspic- 
uous several  gallant  bands,  known  by  the  name  of  the  Rohil- 
]as.  Their  services  had  been  rewarded  with  large  tracts  of 
land  in  that  fertile  plain  through  which  the  Ramgunga  flows 
from  the  snowy  heights  of  Kumaon  to  join  the  Ganges.  The 
Rohillas  were  distinguished  from  the  other  inhabitants  of  India 
by  a peculiarly  fair  complexion.  They  were  more  honorably  23c 
distinguished  by  courage  in  war,  and  by  skill  in  the  arts  of 
peace.  While  anarchy  raged  from  Lahore  to  Cape  Comorin, 
their  little  territory  enjoyed  the  blessings  of  repose  under  the 
guardianship  of  valor.  Agriculture  and  commerce  flourished 
among  them,  nor  were  they  negligent  of  rhetoric  and  poetry* 
Sujah  Dowlah  had  set  his  heart  on  adding  this  rich  district 
to  his  own  principality.  Right,  or  show  of  right,  he  had  abso- 
lutely none.  ' The  Rohillas  held  their  country  by  exactly  the 
same  title  by  which  he  held  his,  and  had  governed  their  country 
far  better  than  his  had  ever  been  governed.  Nor  were  they  a 24a 
people  whom  it  was  perfectly  safe  to  attack.  As  soldiers,  they 
had  not  the  steadiness  which  is  seldom  found  except  in  com- 
pany with  strict  discipline,  but  their  impetuous  valor  had  been 
proved  on  many  fields  of  battle.  It  was  said  that  their  chiefs, 
when  united  by  common  peril,  could  bring  eighty  thousand 
men  into  the  field.  Sujah  Dowlah  had  himself  seen  them 
fight,  and  wisely  shrunk  from  a conflict  with  them.  There 
was  in  India  one  army,  and  only  one,  against  which  even  those 
proud  Caucasian  tribes  could  not  stand.  It  had  been  abun- 
dantly proved  that  neither  tenfold  odds,  nor  the  martial  ardor  25a 
of  the  boldest  Asiatic  nations,  could  avail  aught  against  English 
science  and  resolution.  Was  it  possible  to  induce  the  Governor 
of  Bengal  to  let  out  to  hire  the  irresistible  energies  of  the  ini- 


224.  Cabul.— Written  also  Caboul,  Cabool,  and  Kabul.  Capital  of  Afghanis- 
tan. Candahar,  capital  of  Central  Afghanistan,  200  miles  S.  W.  of  Cabul. 
These  cities  came  into  note  during  the  recent  war  of  England  with  the  Afghans. 

226.  Rohillas. — Inhabitants  of  Rohilcund,  a division  of  Northern  India, 
having  the  Ganges  on  the  west  and  south,  Oude  on  the  east,  and  the  Himalayas 
on  the  north  and  north-east. 

232.  Lahore. — The  capital  city  of  the  Punjab,  and  of  the  Lahore  division 
and  district. 


20 


WARREN  HASTINGS. 


perial  people,  the  skill  against  which  the  ablest  chiefs  of  Hin- 
dostan  were  helpless  as  infants  ? 

This  was  what  the  nabob  vizier  asked,  and  what  Hastings 
granted.  A bargain  was  soon  struck.  Each  of  the  negotiators 
had  what  the  other  wanted.  Hastings  was  in  need  of  funds 
to  carry  on  the  government  of  Bengal,  and  to  send  remittances 
265  to  London,  and  Sujah  Dowlah  had  an  ample  revenue.  It 
was  agreed  that  an  English  army  should  be  lent  to  the  nabob 
vizier,  and  that,  for  the  loan,  he  should  pay  four  hundred 
thousand  pounds  sterling,  besides  defraying  all  the  charge  of 
the  troops  while  employed  in  his  service. 

The  Rohillas  expostulated,  entreated,  offered  a large  ransom, 
but  in  vain.  They  then  resolved  to  defend  themselves  to  the 
last.  A bloody  battle  was  fought.  The  dastardly  sovereign 
of  Oude  fled  from  the  field.  The  English  were  left  unsup- 
ported, but  their  fire  and  their  charge  were  irresistible.  It 
270  was  not,  however,  till  the  most  distinguished  chiefs  had  fallen, 
fighting  bravely  at  the  head  of  their  troops,  that  the  Rohilla 
ranks  gave  way. 

Then  the  horrors  of  Indian  war  were  let  loose  on  the  fair 
valleys  and  cities  of  Roliilcund.  The  whole  country  was  in  a 
blaze.  More  than  a hundred  thousand  people  fled  from  their 
homes  to  pestilential  jungles,  preferring  famine,  and  fever,  and 
the  haunts  of  tigers,  to  the  tyranny  of  him  to  whom  an  English 
and  a Christian  government  had,  for  shameful  lucre,  sold  their 
substance,  and  their  blood,  and  the  honor  of  their  wives  and 
280  daughters. 

We  hasten  to  the  end  of  this  sad  and  disgraceful  story. 
The  war  ceased.  The  finest  population  in  India  was  subjected 
to  a greedy,  cowardly,  cruel  tyrant.  Commerce  and  agriculture 
languished.  The  rich  province  which  had  tempted  the  cupidity 
of  Sujah  Dowlah  became  the  most  miserable  part  even  of  his 
miserable  dominions. 

Whatever  we  may  think  of  the  morality  of  Hastings,  it  can- 
not be  denied  that  the  financial  results  of  his  policy  did  honor 
to  his  talents.  In  less  than  two  years  after  he  assumed 


WARREN  HASTINGS. 


21 


the  government,  he  had,  without  imposing  any  additional  290 
burdens  on  the  people  subject  to  his  authority,  added  about 
four  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  pounds  to  the  annual  income 
of  the  Company,  besides  procuring  about  a million  in  ready 
money.  He  had  also  relieved  the  finances  of  Bengal  from 
military  expenditure,  amounting  to  near  a quarter  of  a million 
a year,  and  had  thrown  that  charge  on  the  Nabob  of  Oude. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  this  was  a result  which,  if  it  had 
been  obtained  by  honest  means,  would  have  entitled  him  to  the 
warmest  gratitude  of  his  country,  and  which,  by  whatever 
means  obtained,  proved  that  he  possessed  great  talents  for3°° 
administration. 

In  the  mean  time  Parliament  had  been  engaged  in  long  and  grave 
discussions  on  Asiatic  affairs.  The  ministry  of  Lord  North,  in  the  ses- 
sion of  1773,  introduced  a measure  which  made  a considerable  change 
in  the  constitution  of  the  Indian  Government.  This  law,  known  by 
the  name  of  the  Regulating  Act,  provided  that  the  Presidency  of  Ben- 
gal should  exercise  a control  over  the  other  possessions  of  the  Com- 
pany ; that  the  chief  of  that  presidency  should  be  styled  governor- 
general  ; that  he  should  be  assisted  by  four  councillors ; and  that  a 
supreme  court  of  judicature,  consisting  of  a chief-justice  and  three  in- 
ferior judges,  should  be  established  at  Calcutta.  This,  court  was  made 
independent  of  the  governor-general  and  Council,  and  was  intrusted 
with  a civil  and  criminal  jurisdiction  of  immense  and,  at  the  same  time, 
of  undefined  extent. 

The  Governor-general  and  councillors  were  named  in  the  act,  and 
were  to  hold  their  situations  for  five  years.  Hastings  was  to  be  the 
first  governor-general. 

The  ablest  of  the  new  councillors  was,  beyond  all  doubt,  Philip  Fran- 
cis, who,  it  is  claimed  by  the  best  authorities,  wrote  the  famous  “ Ju- 
nius” letters.  Macaulay  at  this  place  in  the  essay  interpolates  a long 
but  interesting  discussion  of  the  authorship  of  these  letters. 

With  the  three  new  councillors  came  out  the  judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court.  The  chief-justice  was  Sir  Elijah  Impey.  He  was  an  old  ac- 
quaintance of  Hastings  ; and  it  is  probable  that  the  governor-general, 
if  he  had  searched  through  all  the  inns  of  court,  could  not  have 
found  an  equally  serviceable  tool. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  allude  to  the  bitter  quarrels  which  took  place  * 
between  Hastings  and  his  supporters  on  the  one  side,  and  Francis  and 
his  friends  on  the  other.  Hastings  was  in  the  minority.  The  natives 
soon  found  it  out.  Charges  against  the  governor-general  began  to 
pour  in.  Nuncomar  saw  his  opportunity  to  be  avenged  upon  his  old 
enemy.  He  made  serious  charges  against  Hastings,  who  was  now  in  a 
most  painful  situation,  and  forced  to  place  his  resignation  in  the  hands 
of  a trusty  agent  in  London.  It  was  not  safe  to  drive  to  despair  a man 
of  such  resource  and  of  such  determination  as  Hastings.  It  will  be  re- 
membered that  the  Supreme  Court  was,  within  the  sphere  of  its  own 
duties,  altogether  independent  of  the  government.  Hastings,  with  his 


WARREN  HASTINGS. 


usual  sagacity,  had  seen  how  much  advantage  he  might  derive  frora 
possessing  himself  of  this  stronghold,  and  he  had  acted  accordingly. 
The  judges,  especially  the  chief-justice,  were  hostile  to  the  majority  of 
the  Council.  The  time  had  now  come  for  putting  this  formidable  ma- 
chinery into  action. 

Execution  of  Nuncomar*— On  a sudden,  Calcutta  was  as- 
tounded by  the  news  that  Nuncomar  had  been  taken  up  on  a 
charge  of  felony,  committed,  and  thrown  into  a common  jail. 
The  crime  imputed  to  him  was  that  six  years  before  he  had 
forged  a bond.  The  ostensible  prosecutor  was  a native.  But 
it  was  then,  and  still  is,  the  opinion  of  everybody,  idiots  and 
biographers  excepted,  that  Hastings  was  the  real  mover  in  the 
business. 

3io  The  rage  of  the  majority  rose  to  the  highest  point.  They 
protested  against  the  proceedings  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and 
sent  several  urgent  messages  to  the  judges  demanding  that 
Nuncomar  should  be  admitted  to  bail.  The  judges  returned 
haughty  and  resolute  answers.  In  the  mean  time  the  assizes 
commenced:  a true  bill  was  found,  and  Nuncomar  was  brought 
before  Sir  Elijali  Impey  and  a jury  composed  of  Englishmen. 
A great  quantity  of  contradictory  swearing,  and  the  necessity 
of  having  every  word  of  the  evidence  interpreted,  protracted 
the  trial  to  a most  unusual  length.  At  last  a verdict  of  guilty 

320  was  returned,  and  the  chief-justice  pronounced  sentence  of 
death  on  the  prisoner. 

The  excitement  among  all  classes  was  great.  Francis,  and 
Francis’s  few  English  adherents,  described  the  governor-gen- 
eral and  the  chief-justice  as  the  worst  of  murderers.  Claver- 
ing, it  was  said,  swore  that,  even  at  the  foot  of  the  gallows, 
Nuncomar  should  be  rescued.  The  bulk  of  the  European  so- 
ciety, though  strongly  attached  to  the  Governor-general,  could 


303.  Nuncomar.  — Macaulay  devotes  considerable  space  to  a detailed 
description  of  this  wily  Hindoo  chief.  The  text  is  here  omitted. 

322.  Sir  Philip  Francis  (1740-1818).— An  eminent  English  statesman,  ap- 
pointed a member  of  the  Supreme  Council  of  Bengal  in  1773,  when  Hastings 
was  President.  He  was  the  leader  of  the  party  which  opposed  Hastings,  and 
took  a prominent  part  in  the  great  trial.  He  is  generally  believed  to  be  the 
author  of  the  famous  “ Junins  Letters,”  although  he  always  denied  the  charge* 
Brougham  and  Macaulay  believed  that  Francis  was  “Junius,” 


WARREN  HASTINGS. 


23 


not  but  feel  compassion  for  a man  who,  witli  all  his  crimes, 
had  so  long  filled  so  large  a space  in  their  sight,  who  had  been 
great  and  powerful  before  the  British  Empire  in  India  began  33° 
to  exist.  The  feeling  of  the  Hindoos  was  infinitely  stronger. 
They  were,  indeed,  not  a people  to  strike  one  blow  for  their 
countryman.  But  his  sentence  filled  them  with  sorrow  and 
dismay.  Tried  even  by  their  low  standard  of  morality,  he  was 
a bad  man.  But,  bad  as  he  was,  he  was  the  head  of  their  race 
and  religion,  a Brahmin  of  the  Brahmins.  He  had  inherited 
the  purest  and  highest  caste.  He  had  practised  with  the 
greatest  punctuality  all  those  ceremonies  to  which  the  super- 
stitious Bengalees  ascribe  far  more  importance  than  to  the  cor- 
rect discharge  of  the  social  duties.  According  to  their  old  340 
national  laws,  a Brahmin  could  not  be  put  to  death  for  any 
crime  whatever. 

The  day  drew  near;  and  Nuncomar  prepared  himself  to  die 
with  that  quiet  fortitude  with  which  the  Bengalee,  so  effem- 
inately timid  in  personal  conflict,  often  encounters  calamities  for 
which  there  is  no  remedy.  The  sheriff,  with  the  humanity 
which  is  seldom  wanting  in  an  English  gentleman,  visited  the 
prisoner  on  the  eve  of  the  execution,  and  assured  him  that  no 
indulgence  consistent  with  the  law  should  be  refused  to  him. 
Nuncomar  expressed  his  gratitude  with  great  politeness  and  35° 
unaltered  composure.  Not  a muscle  of  his  face  moved;  not  a 
sigh  broke  from  him.  The  sheriff  withdrew,  greatly  agitated 
by  what  had  passed,  and  Nuncomar  sat  composedly  down  to 
write  notes  and  examine  accounts. 

The  next  morning,  before  the  sun  was  in  his  power,  an  im- 
mense concourse  assembled  round  the  place  where  the  gallows 
had  been  set  up.  Grief  and  horror  were  on  every  face;  yet  to 
the  last  the  multitude  could  hardly  believe  that  the  English 
really  purposed  to  take  the  life  of  the  great  Brahmin.  At  length 
the  mournful  procession  came  through  the  crowd.  Nuncomar  360 


336.  Bralimin  (Sanskrit,  Brahman , Bramin,  and  first  deity  of  the  Hindoo 
triad,  the  creator  of  the  world,  Brahma).  A person  of  the  upper  and  sacerdotal 
caste  among  the  Hindoos. 


24 


WARREN  HASTINGS. 


sat  up  in  his  palanquin,  and  looked  around  him  with  unaltered 
serenity.  He  had  just  parted  from  those  who  were  most  nearly 
connected  with  him.  Their  cries  and  contortions  had  appalled 
the  European  ministers  of  justice,  but  had  not  produced  the 
smallest  effect  on  the  iron  stoicism  of  the  prisoner.  The  only 
anxiety  which  he  expressed  was  that  men  of  his  own  priestly 
caste  might  be  in  attendance  to  take  charge  of  his  corpse.  Pie 
again  desired  to  be  remembered  to  his  friends  in  the  Council, 
mounted  the  scaffold  with  firmness,  and  gave  the  signal  to  the 
370  executioner.  The  moment  that  the  drop  fell  a howl  of  sorrow 
and  despair  rose  from  the  innumerable  spectators.  Hundreds 
turned  away  their  faces  from  the  polluting  sight,  fled  with  loud 
wrailings  toward  the  Hoogly,  and  plunged  into  its  holy  waters, 
as  if  to  purify  themselves  from  the  guilt  of  having  looked  on 
such  a crime.  These  feelings  were  not  confined  to  Calcutta. 
The  whole  province  was  greatly  excited ; and  the  population  of 
Dacca,  in  particular,  gave  strong  signs  of  grief  and  dismay. 

• While  we  have  not  the  least  doubt  that  this  memorable  ex- 
ecution is  to  be  attributed  to  Hastings,  we  doubt  whether  it  can 
380  with  justice  be  reckoned  among  his  crimes.  That  his  conduct 
was  dictated  by  a profound  policy  is  evident.  He  was  in  a 
minority  in  Council.  It  was  possible  that  he  might  long  be  in 
a minority.  He  knew  the  native  character  well.  He  knew  in 
what  abundance  accusations  are  certain  to  flow  in  against  the 
most  innocent  inhabitant  of  India  who  is  under  the  frown  of 
power.  Under  these  circumstances,  the  persecuted  statesman 
resolved  to  teach  the  wdiole  crew  of  accusers  and  witnesses 
that,  though  in  a minority  at  the  Council-board,  he  was  still  to 
be  feared.  The  lesson  which  he  gave  them  was  indeed  a lesson 
390  not  to  be  forgotten.  The  head  of  the  combination  which  had 

377.  Dacca. — A division,  district,  and  city  of  Bengal  on  the  Lower  Ganges. 
The  city  of  Dacca  is  155  miles  N.  E.  of  Calcutta. 

Note.— It  is  a remarkable  circumstance  that  one  of  the  letters  of  Hastings 
to  Dr.  Johnson  bears  date  a very  few  hours  after  the  death  of  Nuncomar. 
While  the  whole  settlement  was  in  commotion,  while  a mighty  and  ancient 
priesthood  were  weeping  over  the  remains  of  their  chief,  the  conqueror  in  that 
deadlv  grapple  sat  down,  with  characteristic  self-possession,  to  write  about  the 
“Tour  to  the  Hebrides,”  Jones’s  “Persian  Grammar,”  and  the  history,  tradi- 
tions, arts,  and  natural  productions  of  India.— Macaulay. 


WARREN  HASTINGS. 


25 


been  formed  against  him,  the  richest,  the  most  powerful,  the 
most  artful  of  the  Hindoos,  distinguished  by  the  favor  of  those 
who  then  held  the  government,  fenced  round  by  the  supersti- 
tious reverence  of  millions,  was  hanged  in  broad  day  before 
many  thousands  of  people.  From  that  moment  the  conviction 
of  every  native  was  that  it  was  safer  to  take  the  part  of  Hast- 
ings in  a minority  than  that  of  Francis  in  a majority ; and  that  he 
who  was  so  venturous  as  to  join  in  running  down  the  governor- 
general  might  chance,  in  the  phrase  of  the  Eastern  poet,  to  find 
a tiger  while  beating  the  jungle  for  a deer.  The  voices  of  a^ 
thousand  informers  were  silenced  in  an  instant.  From  that 
time,  whatever  difficulties  Hastings  might  have  to  encounter, 
he  was  never  molested  by  accusations  from  natives  of  India. 

In  the  meantime,  the  Directors  took  part  with  the  majority,  and 
censured  Hastings.  An  unsuccessful  attempt  was  made  to  displace 
him.  Hastings’s  agent  produced  the  letter  of  resignation,  and  Mr. 
Wheeler  was  sent  out  to  succeed  the  Governor-general.  By  the  death 
of  an  opponent  in  the  Council  and  an  appeal  to  the  Supreme  Court, 
Hastings  meanwhile  had  regained  the  casting  vote  and  full  supremacy. 
England  now  became  involved  in  foreign  wars,  and  her  public  interests 
were  exposed  to  such  fearful  dangers  in  every  quarter  that  all  designs 
against  Hastings  were  dropped,  and  he  was  quietly  reappointed  for 
another  term  of  five  years.  The  remarkable  executive  ability  and 
energy  of  the  Governor-general  were  of  incalculable  service  to  his 
country  in  this  crisis  of  affairs  in  India.  The  dangers  of  the  Empire 
induced  both  Hastings  and  Francis  to  forget  for  the  time  their  private 
enmities,  and  to  co-operate  heartily  for  the  general  good. 

S 

Reign  of  Terror. — Harmony,  indeed,  was  never  more  neces- 
sary ; for  at  this  moment  internal  calamities,  more  formidable 
than  war  itself,  menaced  Bengal.  The  authors  of  the  Regu- 
lating Act  of  1773  had  established  two  independent  powers — 
the  one  judicial,  the  other  political;  and  with  a carelessness 
scandalously  common  in  English  legislation,  had  omitted  to 
define  the  limits  of  either.  The  judges  took  advantage  of  the  410 
indistinctness,  and  attempted  to  draw  to  themselves  supreme 
authority,  not  only  within  Calcutta,  but  through  the  whole  of 
the  great  territory  subject  to  the  Presidency  of  Fort  William. 
The  strongest  feelings  of  our  nature — honor,  religion,  female 
modesty — rose  up  against  the  innovation.  Arrest  on  mesne  proc- 
2 


26 


WARREN  HASTINGS. 


ess  was  the  first  step  in  most  civil  proceedings:  and  to  a native 
of  rank  arrest  was  not  merely  a restraint,  but  a foul  personal  in- 
dignity. That  the  apartments  of  a woman  of  quality  should  be 
entered  by  strange  men,  or  that  her  face  should  be  seen  by 
.420  them,  are,  in  the  East,  intolerable  outrages — outrages  which 
are  more  dreaded  than  death,  and  which  can  be  expiated  only 
by  the  shedding  of  blood.  To  these  outrages  the  most  distin- 
guished families  of  Bengal,  Baliar,  and  Orissa  were  now  ex- 
posed. A reign  of  terror  began,  of  terror  heightened  by  mystery  ; 
for  even  that  which  was  endured  was  less  horrible  than  that 
which  was  anticipated.  No  man  knew  what  was  next  to  be 
expected  from  this  strange  tribunal.*  It  came  from  beyond  the 
black  water — as  the  people  of  India,  with  mysterious  horror, 
call  the  sea.  It  consisted  of  judges  not  one  of  whom  was 
430  familiar  with  the  usages  of  the  millions  over  whom  they 
claimed  boundless  authority.  Its  records  were  kept  in  un- 
known characters;  its  sentences  were  pronounced  in  unknown 
sounds.  It  had  already  collected  round  itself  an  army  of  the 
worst  part  of  the  native  population:  informers,  and  false  wit- 
nesses, and  common  barrators,  and  agents  of  chicane.  Many 
natives,  highly  considered  among  their  countrymen,  were 
seized,  hurried  up  to  Calcutta,  flung  into  the  common  jail, 
not  for  any  crime  even  imputed,  not  for  any  debt  that  had 
been  proved,  but  merely  as  a precaution  till  their  cause  should 
440  come  to  trial.  There  were  instances  in  which  men  of  the  most 
venerable  dignity,  persecuted  without  a cause  by  extortioners, 
died  of  rage  and  shame  in  the  gripe  of  the  vile  alguazils  of 
Impey. 

The  chief-justice  proceeded  to  the  wildest  excesses.  The 
Governor-general  and  all  the  Members  of  Council  were  served 
with  writs,  calling  on  them  to  appear  before  the  king’s  jus- 
tices, and  to  answer  for  their  public  acts.  This  was  too  much. 
Hastings,  with  just  scorn,  refused  to  obey  the  call,  set  at 
liberty  the  persons  wrongfully  detained  by  the  court,  and  took 


442.  Alguazil  (Sp.  alquacil).— An  inferior  officer  of  justice. 


WARREN  HASTINGS. 


27 


measures  for  resisting  the  outrageous  proceedings  of  the  sheriffs’  45° 
officers,  if  necessary,  by  the  sword.  But  lie  had  in  view  another 
device  which  might  prevent  the  necessity  of  an  appeal  to  arms. 

He  was  seldom  at  a loss  for  an  expedient,  and  he  knew  Impey 
well.  The  expedient,  in  this  case,  was  a very  simple  one— 
neither  more  nor  less  than  a bribe.  Impey  was,  by  act  of 
Parliament,  a judge,  independent  of  the  Government  of  Ben- 
gal, and  entitled  to  a salary  of  eight  thousand  a year.  Hast- 
ings proposed  to  make  him  also  a judge  in  the  Company’s 
service,  removable  at  the  pleasure  of  the  Government  of  Ben- 
gal; and  to  give  him,  in  that  capacity,  about  eight  thousand  460 
a year  more.  It  was  understood  that,  in  consideration  of  this 
new  salary,  Impey  would  desist  from  urging  the  high  preten- 
sions of  his  court.  If  he  did  urge  these  pretensions,  the  Govern- 
ment could,  at  a moment’s  notice,  eject  him  from  the  new 
place  which  had  been  created  for  him.  The  bargain  was 
struck ; Bengal  was  saved ; an  appeal  to  force  was  averted ; and 
the  chief-justice  was  rich,  quiet,  and  infamous. 

A crisis  now  arrived  with  which  Hastings  alone  was  competent  to 
deal.  The  English  authorities  in  Southern  India  had  provoked  the 
great  Hyder  Ali  to  hostility  without  being  prepared  to  repel  it.  An 
army  of  90,000  well  disciplined  by  French  officers,  came  pouring  down 
from  the  table-land  of  Mysore  to  the  plains  of  Carnatic.  Hyder  was 
everywhere  triumphant.  Then  it  was  that  the  fertile  genius  and 
serene  courage  of  Hastings  achieved  their  most  signal  triumph. 
Adopting  a most  vigorous  policy,  the  Governor-general  by  his  masterly 
movements  in  a few  months  retrieved  the  honor  of  the  English  arms. 
The  financial  embarrassment  was  extreme.  A few  years  before  this 
time  Hastings  had  obtained  relief  by  plundering  the  Mogul  and  en- 
slaving the  Rohillas,  nor  were  the  resources  of  his  fruitful  mind  by  any 
means  exhausted.  His  first  design  was  on  Benares,  a city  which,  in 
wealth,  population,  dignity,  and  sanctity,  was  among  the  foremost  of 
Asia. 

Plundering  the  Treasures  of  the  Hindoo  Prince,  Cheyte 
Sing.— The  English  Government  now  chose  to  wring  money 
out  of  Cheyte  Sing.  It  had  formerly  been  convenient  to  treat  470 
him  as  a sovereign  prince  ; it  was  now  convenient  to  treat  him 
as  a subject.  Dexterity  inferior  to  that  of  Hastings  could 
easily  find,  in  the  general  chaos  of  laws  and  customs,  argu- 
ments for  either  course.  Hastings  wanted  a great  supply.  It 


28 


WARREN  HASTINGS. 


was  known  that  Cheyte  Sing  had  a large  revenue,  and  it  was 
suspected  that  he  had  accumulated  a treasure.  Nor  was  he  a 
favorite  at  Calcutta.  He  had,  when  the  Governor-general  was 
in  great  difficulties,  courted  the  favor  of  Francis  and  Clavering. 
Hastings,  who,  less  perhaps  from  evil  passions  than  from  policy, 
480  seldom  left  an  injury  unpunished,  was  not  sorry  that  the  fate 
of  Cheyte  Sing  should  teach  neighboring  princes  the  same 
lesson  which  the  fate  of  Nuncomar  had  already  impressed  on 
the  inhabitants  of  Bengal. 

In  1778,  on  the  first  breaking  out  of  the  war  with  France, 
Cheyte  Sing  was  called  upon  to  pay,  in  addition  to  his  fixed 
tribute,  an  extraordinary  contribution  of  fifty  thousand  pounds. 
In  1779,  an  equal  sum  was  exacted.  In  1780,  the  demand  was 
renewed. 

The  rajah,  after  the  fashion  of  his  countrymen,  shuffled,  so- 
49°licited,  and  pleaded  poverty.  The  grasp  of  Hastings  was  not 
to  be  so  eluded.  He  added  to  the  requisition  another  ten 
thousand  pounds  as  a fine  for  delay,  and  sent  troops  to  exact 
the  money. 

The  money  was  paid.  But  this  was  not  enough.  The  late 
events  in  the  South  of  India  had  increased  the  financial  em- 
barrassments of  the  Company.  Hastings  was  determined  to 
plunder  Cheyte  Sing,  and,  for  that  end,  to  fasten  a quarrel  on 
him.  Accordingly,  the  rajah  was  now  required  to  keep  a body 
of  cavalry  for  the  service  of  the  British  Government.  He 
500  objected  and  evaded. 

This  was  exactly  what  the  Governor-general  wanted.  He 
had  now  a pretext  for  treating  the  wealthiest  of  his  vassals 
as  a criminal.  The  plan  was  simply  this,  to  demand  larger  aud 
larger  contributions  till  the  rajah  should  be  driven  to  remon- 
strate, then  to  call  his  remonstrance  a crime,  and  to  punish  him 
by  confiscating  all  his  possessions. 

Cheyte  Sing  was  in  the  greatest  dismay.  He  offered  two 
hundred  thousand  pounds  to  propitiate  the  British  Govern- 
ment. But  Hastings  replied  that  nothing  less  than  half  a mill- 
510  ion  would  be  accepted.  Nay  he  began  to  think  of  selling 


WARREX  HASTINGS. 


29 


Benares  to  Oude,  as  he  had  formerly  sold  Allahabad  and 
Rohilcund.  The  matter  was  one  which  could  not  be  well  man- 
aged at  a distance  ; and  Hastings  resolved  to  visit  Benares. 

Cheyte  Sing  received  his  liege  lord  with  every  mark  of  rev- 
erence, came  near  sixty  miles,  with  his  guards,  to  meet  and 
escort  the  illustrious  visitor,  and  expressed  his  deep  concern  at 
the  displeasure  of  the  English.  Having  arrived  at  Benares, 
Hastings  sent  to  the  rajah  a paper  containing  the  demands  of 
the  Government  of  Bengal.  The  rajah,  in  reply,  attempted 
to  clear  himself  from  the  accusations  brought  against  him. 
Hastings,  who  wanted  money  and  not  excuses,  was  not  to  be 
put  off  by  the  ordinary  artifices  of  Eastern  negotiation.  He 
instantly  ordered  the  rajah  to  be  arrested  and  placed  under  the 
custody  of  two  companies  of  Sepoys. 

In  taking  these  strong  measures,  Hastings  scarcely  showed 
his  usual  judgment.  He  was  now  in  a land  far  more  favorable 
to  the  vigor  of  the  human  frame  than  the  Delta  of  the  Ganges  ; 
in  a land  fruitful  of  soldiers  who  have  been  found  worthy  to 
follow  English  battalions  to  the  charge  and  into  the  breach. 
The  rajah  was  popular  among  his  subjects.  His  administra-  5ac 
tion  had  been  mild ; and  the  prosperity  of  the  district  which 
he  governed  presented  a striking  contrast  to  the  depressed 
state  of  the  provinces  which  were  cursed  by  the  tyranny  of  the 
nabob  vizier.  The  national  and  religious  prejudices  with 
which  the  English  were  regarded  throughout  India  were  pecul- 
iarly intense  in  the  metropolis  of  the  Brahminical  superstition. 

It  can  therefore  scarcely  be  doubted  that  the  Governor-general, 
before  he  outraged  the  dignity  of  Cheyte  Sing  by  an  arrest, 
ought  to  have  assembled  a force  capable  of  bearing  down  all 
opposition.  This  had  not  been  done.  540 

The  streets  surrounding  the  palace  were  filled  by  an  immense 
multitude,  of  whom  a large  proportion,  as  is  usual  in  Upper 
India,  wore  arms.  The  tumult  became  a fight,  and  the  fight  a 

513.  Benares. — One  of  the  most  ancient  and  renowned  cities  of  the  world, 
situated  on  the  river  Ganges,  390  miles  N.  W.  of  Calcutta.  It  is  the  religious 
capital  of  the  Hindoos  and  the  chief  centre  of  Brahminical  learning.  A divis- 
ion and  district  of  India  has  the  same  name, 


30 


WARREN  HASTINGS. 


massacre.  The  English  officers  defended  themselves  with  des- 
perate courage  against  overwhelming  numbers,  and  fell,  as 
became  them,  sword  in  hand.  The  Sepoys  were  butchered. 
The  gates  were  forced.  The  captive  prince,  neglected  by  his 
jailers  during  the  confusion,  discovered  an  outlet  which  opened 
on  the  precipitous  bank  of  the  Ganges,  let  himself  down  to 
55°  the  water  by  a string  made  of  the  turbans  of  his  attendants, 
found  a boat,  and  escaped  to  the  opposite  shore. 

If  Hastings  had,  by  indiscreet  violence,  brought  himself  into 
a difficult  and  perilous  situation,  it  is  only  just  to  acknowledge 
that  he  extricated  himself  with  even  more  than  his  usual  ability 
and  presence  of  mind.  He  had  only  fifty  men  with  him.  The 
building  in  which  he  had  taken  up  his  residence  was  on  every 
side  blockaded  by  the  insurgents.  But  his  fortitude  remained 
unshaken.  The  rajah  from  the  other  side  of  the  river  sent 
apologies  and  liberal  offers.  They  were  not  even  answered. 
560  Some  subtle  and  enterprising  men  were  found  who  undertook 
to  pass  through  the  throng  of  enemies,  and  to  convey  the  in- 
telligence of  the  late  events  to  the  English.  Instructions  for 
the  negotiations  were  needed ; and  the  Governor-general  framed 
them  in  that  situation  of  extreme  danger  with  as  much  com- 
posure as  if  he  had  been  writing  in  his  palace  at  Calcutta. 

The  entire  population  of  the  district  of  Benares  took  arms. 
The  fields  were  abandoned  by  the  husbandmen,  who  thronged 
to  defend  their  prince.  The  infection  spread  to  Oude.  Even 
Bahar  was  ripe  for  revolt.  The  hopes  of  Cheyte  Sing  began 
570  to  rise.  Instead  of  imploring  mercy  in  the  humble  style  of  a 
vassal,  he  began  to  talk  the  language  of  a conqueror.  But  the 
English  troops  were  now  assembling  fast.  The  officers,  and 
even  the  private  men,  regarded  the  Governor-general  with  en- 
thusiastic attachment,  and  flew  to  his  aid  with  an  alacrity 


549.  Ganges  (Hindoo  Gunqa , or  Ganga , so  called  as  flowing  through  the 
Gang , the  earth,  to  heaven).  The  principal  river  of  India  traversing  the  north- 
west provinces  and  Bengal.  It  enters  the  Gulf  of  Bengal  by  numerous  mouths. 
The  delta  of  the  Ganges  begins  200  miles  from  the  sea.  The  valley  of  the 
Ganges  is  one  of  the  richest  on  the  globe.  This  river  is  1,960  miles  long,  and  is 
navigable  for  large  boats  for  1,500  miles  from  its  mouth.  Cf.  A passage  in 
Macaulay’s  “ Lord  Clive  ” for  a graphic  description  of  the  valley  of  the  Ganges. 


WARREN  HASTINGS. 


31 


which,  as  he  boasted,  had  never  been  shown  on  any  other  occa- 
sion. The  tumultuary  army  of  the  rajah  was  put  to  rout.  His 
fastnesses  were  stormed.  In  a few  hours,  above  thirty  thou- 
sand men  left  his  standard,  and  returned  to  their  ordinary  avo- 
cations. The  unhappy  prince  fled  from  his  country  forever. 
His  fair  domain  was  added  to  the  British  dominions.  * 58* 

By  this  revolution,  an  addition  of  two  hundred  thousand 
pounds  a year  was  made  to  the  revenues  of  the  Company.  But 
the  immediate  relief  was  not  as  great  as  had  been  expected. 
The  treasure  laid  up  by  Clieyte  Sing  had  been  popularly  esti- 
mated at  a million  sterling.  It  turned  out  to  be  about  a fourth 
part  of  that  sum  ; and,  such  as  it  was,  it  was  seized  by  the 
army,  and  divided  as  prize-money. 

The  Infamous  Bargain  with  the  Prince  of  Oude;  Cruel  * 
Treatment  of  the  Begums,  or  Princesses  of  Oude. — Disap- 
pointed in  his  expectation  from  Benares,  Hastings  was  more  59° 
violent  than  he  would  otherwise  have  been,  in  his  dealings 
with  Oude.  Sujah  Dowlah  had  long  been  dead.  His  son 
and  successor,  Asaph-ul-Dowlah,  was  one  of  the  weakest  and 
most  vicious  even  of  Eastern  princes.  His  life  was  divided 
between  torpid  repose  and  the  most  odious  forms  of  sensuality. 

It  was  only  by  the  help  of  a British  brigade  that  he  could  be 
secure  from  the  aggressions  of  neighbors  who  despised  his 
weakness,  and  from  the  vengeance  of  subjects  who  detested  his 
tyranny.  A brigade  wTas  furnished,  and  he  engaged  to  defray 
the  charge  of  paying  and  maintaining  it.  From  that  time  his  60c 
independence  was  at  an  end.  Hastings  was  not  a man  to  lose 
the  advantage  which  he  had  thus  gained.  The  nabob  soon 
began  to  complain  of  the  burden  which  he  had  undertaken  to 
bear. 

Hastings  had  intended,  after  settling  the  affairs  of  Benares, 
to  visit  Lucknow,  and  there  to  confer  with  Asaph-ul-Dowlah. 
But  the  obsequious  courtesy  of  the  nabob  vizier  prevented  this 
visit.  With  a small  train,  he  hastened  to  meet  the  Governor- 


606.  Iiiick now. —For  many  years  the  capital  of  Oude,  580  miles  N.W.  of  Cal-- 
cutta.  Renowned  fer  its  siege  and  defense  against  the  Sepoys  in  1857. 


32 


WARREN  HASTINGS. 


general.  An  interview  took  place  in  the  fortress  which,  from 
610  the  crest  of  the  precipitous  rock  of  Chunar,  looks  down  on 
the  waters  of  the  Ganges. 

At  first  sight  it  might  appear  impossible  that  the  negotiation 
should  come  to  an  amicable  close.  Hastings  wanted  an  extra- 
ordinary supply  of  money.  Asaph-ul-Dowlah  wanted  to  obtain 
a remission  of  what  he  already  owed.  Such  a difference  seemed 
to  admit  of  no  compromise.  There  was,  however,  one  course 
satisfactory  to  both  sides,  one  course  by  which  it  was  possible 
to  relieve  the  finances  both  of  Oude  and  of  Bengal  ; and  that 
course  was  adopted.  It  was  simply  this,  that  the  Governor- 
520  general  and  the  nabob  vizier  should  join  to  rob  a third  party  ; 
and  the  third  party  whom  they  determined  to  rob  was  the 
parent  of  one  of  the  robbers. 

The  mother  of  the  late  nabob,  and  his  wife,  who  was  the 
mother  of  the  present  nabob,  were  known  as  the  Begums  01 
Princesses  of  Oude.  They  had  possessed  great  influence  over 
Sujah  Dowlah,  and  had,  at  his  death,  been  left  in  possession 
of  a splendid  dotation.  The  domains  of  which  they  received 
the  rents  and  administered  the  government  were  of  wide  extent. 
The  treasure  hoarded  by  the  late  nabob,  a treasure  which  was 
630  popularly  estimated  at  near  three  millions  sterling,  was  in  their 
hands. 

Asaph-ul-Dowlah  had  already  extorted  considerable  sums 
from  his  mother.  She  had  at  length  appealed  to  the  English, 
and  the  English  had  interfered.  A solemn  compact  had  been 
made,  by  which  she  .consented  to  give  her  son  some  pecuniary 
assistance,  and  he  in  his  turn  promised  never  to  commit  any 
further  invasion  of  her  rights.  This  compact  was  formally 
guaranteed  by  the  Government  of  Bengal. 

It  was  necessary  to  find  some  pretext  for  a confiscation  incon- 
64osistent,  not  merely  with  plighted  faith,  not  merely  with  the 
ordinary  rules  of  humanity  and  justice,  but  also  with  the  great 
law  of  filial  piety.  A pretext  was  the  last  thing  that  Hastings 


610.  Cliunar.— A town  on  the  Ganges,  17  miles  S.W.  of  Benares. 


WARREN  HASTINGS. 


33 


was  likely  to  want.  The  insurrection  at  Benares  had  produced 
disturbances  in  Oude.  These  disturbances  it  was  convenient 
to  impute  to  the  princesses.  The  accused  were  furnished  with 
no  charge  ; they  were  permitted  to  make  no  defense  ; for  the 
Governor-general  wisely  considered  that,  if  he  tried  them,  he 
might  not  be  able  to  find  a ground  for  plundering  them.  It 
was  agreed  between  him  and  the  nabob  vizier  that  the  noble 
ladies  should,  by  a sweeping  act  of  confiscation,  be  stripped  of  650 
their  domains  and  treasures  for  the  benefit  of  the  Company, 
and  that  the  sums  thus  obtained  should  be  accepted  by  the 
Government  of  Bengal  in  satisfaction  of  its  claims  on  the 
Government  of  Oude. 

While  Asaph-ul-Dowlah  was  at  Chunar,  he  was  completely 
subjugated  by  the  clear  and  commanding  intellect  of  the 
English  statesman  ; but,  when  they  had  separated,  the  vizier 
began  to  reflect  with  uneasiness  on  the  engagements  into  which 
he  had  entered.  His  mother  and  grandmother  protested  and 
implored.  His  heart,  deeply  corrupted  by  absolute  power  and  660 
licentious  pleasures,  yet  not  naturally  unfeeling,  failed  him  in 
this  crisis.  Even  the  English  resident  at  Lucknow,  though 
hitherto  devoted  to  Hastings,  shrunk  from  extreme  measures. 
But  the  Governor-general  was  inexorable.  He  wrote  to  the 
resident  in  terms  of  the  greatest  severity,  and  declared  that, 
if  the  spoliation  which  had  been  agreed  upon  were  not  instantly 
carried  into  effect,  he  would  himself  go  to  Lucknow,  and  do 
that  from  which  feebler  minds  recoiled  with  dismay.  The 
resident,  thus  menaced,  waited  on  his  highness,  and  insisted 
that  the  treaty  of  Chunar  should  be  carried  into  full  and  im-  670 
mediate  effect.  Asaph-ul-Dowlah  yielded,  making  at  the  same 
time  a solemn  protestation  that  he  yielded  to  compulsion.  The 
lands  were  resumed  ; but  the  treasure  was  not  so  easily  obtained. 

It  was  necessary  to  use  violence.  A body  of  the  Company’s 
troops  marched  to  Fyzabad,  and  forced  the  gates  of  the 
palace.  The  princesses  were  confined  to  their  own  apartments. 


675.  ryzabad.— Capital  of  Fyzabad,  in  Oude,  65  miles  from  Lucknow. 

3* 


34 


WARREN  HASTINGS. 


But  still  they  refused  to  submit.  Some  more  stringent  mode 
of  coercion  was  to  be  found.  A mode  was  found  of  which, 
even  at  tliis  distance  of  time,  we  cannot  speak  without  shame 
680  and  sorrow. 

Sujah  Dowlah  had  given  his  entire  confidence  to  two 
eunuchs  ; and  after  his  deatli  they  remained  at  the  head  of  the 
household  of  his  widow. 

These  men  were,  by  the  orders  of  the  British  Goverment, 
seized,  imprisoned,  ironed,  starved  almost  to  death,  in  order 
to  extort  money  from  the  princesses.  Yet  this  was  not  the 
worst.  It  was  resolved  by  an  English  Government  that  these 
two  infirm  old  men  should  be  delivered  to  the  tormentors. 
For  that  purpose  they  were  removed  to  Lucknow.  What 
690  horrors  their  dungeon  there  witnessed  can  only  be  guessed. 

While  these  barbarities  were  perpetrated  at  Lucknow,  the 
princesses  were  still  under  duress  at  Fyzabad.  Food  was 
allowed  to  enter  their  apartments  only  in  such  scanty  quantities 
that  their  female  attendants  were  in  danger  of  perishing  with 
hunger.  Month  after  month  this  cruelty  continued,  till  at 
length,  after  twelve  hundred  thousand  pounds  had  been  wrung 
out  of  the  princesses,  Hastings  began  to  think  that  he  had 
really  got  to  the  bottom  of  their  coffers,  and  that  no  rigor 
could  extort  more.  Then  at  length  the  wretched  men  who 
700  were  detained  at  Lucknow  regained  their  liberty.  When  their 
irons  were  knocked  off,  and  the  doors  of  their  prison  opened, 
their  quivering  lips,  the  tears  which  ran  down  their  cheeks, 
and  the  thanksgivings  which  they  poured  forth  to  the  common 
Father  of  Mussulmans  and  Christians,  melted  even  the  stout 
hearts  of  the  English  warriors  who  stood  by. 

The  state  of  India  had  for  some  time  occupied  much  of  the  attention 
of  the  British  Parliament.  Two  committees  of  the  Commons  sat  on 
Eastern  affairs.  In  the  one  Edmund  Burke  took  the  lead.  The  other 
was  under  the  presidency  of  the  able  and  versatile  Henry  Dundas, 
then  Lord  Advocate  of  Scotland.  Their  reports  breathed  the  spirit  of 
stern  and  indignant  justice.  The  severest  epithets  were  applied  to 
several  of  the  measures  of  Hastings.  It  was  resolved  that  the  Com- 
pany ought  to  recall  a governor-general  who  had  brought  such  calam- 
ities upon  the  Indian  people,  and  such  dishonor  on  the  British  name. 
The  jurisdiction  of  the  Supreme  Court  was  limited,  and  Impey  was 


WARREN  HASTINGS. 


35 


recalled.  The  Company  resolutely  refused  to  dismiss  Hastings  from 
their  service.  Thus  supported,  Hastings  remained  at  the  head  of  the 
government  of  Bengal  till  the  spring  of  1785.  His  administration,  so 
eventful  and  stormy,  closed  in  almost  perfect  quiet. 

General  Review  of  the  Administration  of  Hastings.— On  a 

general  review  of  the  long  administration  of  Hastings,  it  is 
impossible  to  deny  that,  against  the  great  crimes  by  which  it 
is  blemished,  we  have  to  set  off  great  public  services.  England 
had  passed  through  a perilous  crisis.  In  every  part  of  the  7r0 
world,  except  one,  she  had  been  a loser.  The  only  quarter  of 
the  world  in  which  Britain  had  lost  nothing  was  the  quarter  in 
which  her  interests  had  been  committed  to  the  care  of  Hastings. 

In  spite  of  the  utmost  exertions  both  of  European  and  Asiatic  en- 
emies, the  power  of  our  country  in  the  East  had  been  greatly 
augmented. 

His  internal  administration,  with  all  its  blemishes,  gives  him 
a title  to  be  considered  as  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  in 
our  history.  He  dissolved  the  double  government.  He  trans- 
ferred the  direction  of  affairs  to  English  hands.  Out  of  a 720 
frightful  anarchy,  he  reduced  at  least  a rude  and  imperfect 
order.  The  whole  organization  by  which  justice  was  dispensed, 
revenue  collected,  peace  maintained  throughout  a territory  not 
inferior  in  population  to  the  dominions  of  Louis  the  Sixteenth 
or  of  the  Emperor  Joseph,  was  formed  and  superintended  by 
him.  He  boasted  that  every  public  office,  without  exception, 
which  existed  when  he  left  Bengal,  was  his  creation.  Who- 
ever seriously  considers  what  it  is  to  construct  from  the 
beginning  the  whole  of  a machine  so  vast  and  complex  as  a 
government,  will  allow  that  what  Hastings  effected  deserves  73c 
high  admiration. 

The  just  fame  of  Hastings  rises  still  higher,  when  we  reflect 
that  he  was  not  bred  a statesman  ; that  he  was  sent  from  school 
to  a counting-house  ; and  that  he  was  employed  during  the 


724.  Louis  the  Sixteenth  (1754,  executed  1793).— King  of  France  and  hus- 
band of  Maria  Antoinette. 

725.  Kmperor  .Joseph  (1741-1790).— Joseph  II.,  Emperor  of  Germany,  son 
pf  Maria  Theresa,  of  Austria* 


36 


WARREN  HASTINGS. 


prime  of  his  manhood  as  a commercial  agent,  far  from  all  in- 
tellectual  society. 

Nor  must  we  forget  that  all,  or  almost  all,  to  whom,  when 
placed  at  the  head  of  affairs,  he  could  apply  for  assistance, 
were  persons  who  owed  as  little  as  himself,  or  less  than  him- 
740  self,  to  education.  A minister  in  Europe  finds  himself,  on  the 
first  day  on  which  he  commences  his  functions,  surrounded  by 
experienced  public  servants,  the  depositaries  of  official  tradi- 
tions.  Hastings  had  no  such  help.  His  own  reflection,  his 
own  energy,  were  to  supply  the  place  of  all  Downing  Street 
and  Somerset  House. 

It  must  be  added  that,  while  engaged  in  this  most  arduous 
task,  he  was  constantly  trammeled  by  orders  from  home,  and 
frequently  borne  down  by  a majority  in  Council.  The  preser- 
vation of  an  empire  from  a formidable  combination  of  foreign 
750  enemies,  the  construction  of  a government  in  all  its  parts, 
were  accomplished  by  him,  while  every  ship  brought  out  bales 
of  censure  from  his  employers,  and  while  the  records  of  every 
consultation  were  filled  with  acrimonious  minutes  by  his  col- 
leagues. We  believe  that  there  never  was  a public  man  whose 
temper  was  so  severely  tried. 

But  the  temper  of  Hastings  was  equal  to  almost  any  trial. 
It  was  not  sweet ; but  it  was  calm.  Quick  and  vigorous  as  his 
intellect  was,  the  patience  with  which  he  endured  the  most 
cruel  vexations,  till  a remedy  could  be  found,  resembled  the 
760  patience  of  stupidity.  He  seems  to  have  been  capable  of  re- 
sentment, bitter  and  long  enduring  ; yet  his  resentment  so  sel- 
dom hurried  him  into  any  blunder,  that  it  may  be  doubted 
whether  what  appeared  to  be  revenge  was  anything  but  policy. 

The  effect  of  this  singular  equanimity  was  that  he  always 
had  the  full  command  of  all  the  resources  of  one  of  the  most 
fertile  minds  that  ever  existed.  Accordingly,  no  complication 

744.  Downing  Street.— The  principal  building  in  this  street  of  London  was 
given  by  George  I.  to  Sir  Robert  Walpole,  who  accepted  it  for  his  office  of  First 
Lord  of  the  Treasury.  It  has  since  been  the  official  residence  of  successive 
prime  ministers,  and  has  given  celebrity  to  the  street  in  which  it  stands. 

745.  Somerset  House.— A building  in  the  Strand,  London,  devoted  to  the 
accommodation  of  government  and  semi-public  offices. 


WARREK  HASTINGS. 


37 


of  perils  and  embarrassments  could  perplex  him.  For  every 
difficulty  he  had  a contrivance  ready  ; and,  whatever  may  be 
thought  of  the  justice  and  humanity  of  some  of  his  contri- 
vances, it  is  certain  that  they  seldom  failed  to  serve  the  pur-  77 a 
pose  for  which  they  wTere  designed. 

Together  with  this  extraordinary  talent  for  devising  expedi- 
ents, Hastings  possessed,  in  a very  high  degree,  another  ta'icnt 
scarcely  less  necessary  to  a man  in  his  situation  ; we  mean  the 
talent  for  conducting  political  controversy.  Of  the  numerous 
servants  of  the  Company  who  have  distinguished  themselves 
as  framers  of  minutes  and  dispatches,  Hastings  stands  at  the 
head.  He  was  indeed  the  person  who  gave  to  the  official 
writing  of  the  Indian  governments  the  character  which  it  still 
retains.  He  was  matched  against  no  common  antagonist.  But  780 
even  Francis  was  forced  to  acknowledge,  with  sullen  and  re- 
sentful candor,  that  there  was  no  contending  against  the  pen  of 
Hastings.  And,  in  truth,  the  Governor-general’s  power  of 
making  out  a case,  of  perplexing  what  it  was  inconvenient  that 
people  should  understand,  and  of  setting  in  the  clearest  point 
of  view  whatever  would  bear  the  light,  was  incomparable. 

And,  since  we  have  referred  to  his  literary  tastes,  it  would 
be  most  unjust  not  to  praise  the  judicious  encouragement 
which,  as  a ruler,  he  gave  to  liberal  studies  and  curious  re- 
searches. His  patronage  was  extended,  with  prudent  gener-  790 
osity,  to  voyages,  travels,  experiments,  publications.  In 
Persian  and  Arabic  literature  he  was  deeply  skilled.  It  was 
under  his  protection  that  the  Asiatic  Society  commenced  its 
honorable  career. 

He  was  the  first  foreign  ruler  who  succeeded  in  gaining  the 
confidence  of  the  hereditary  priests  of  India,  and  who  induced 
them  to  lay  open  to  English  scholars  the  secrets  of  the  old 
Brahminical  theology  and  jurisprudence. 

It  is  indeed  impossible  to  deny  that,  in  the  great  art  of  in- 
spiring large  masses  of  human  beings  with  confidence  and  at-  800 
tachment,  no  ruler  ever  surpassed  Hastings.  What  is  peculiar 
to  him  is  that,  being  the  chief  of  a small  band  of  strangers 


38 


WARREtf  HASTINGS. 


who  exercised  boundless  power  over  a great  indigenous  popu- 
lation, he  made  himself  beloved  both  by  the  subject  many  and 
by  the  dominant  few.  The  affection  felt  for  him  by  the  civil 
service  was  singularly  ardent  and  constant.  Through  all  his 
disasters  and  perils,  his  brethren  stood  by  him  with  steadfast 
loyalty.  The  army,  at  the  same  time,  loved  him  as  armies 
have  seldom  loved  any  but  the  greatest  chiefs  who  have  led 
810  them  to  victory.  Even  in  his  disputes  with  distinguished  mil- 
itary men,  lie  could  always  count  on  the  support  of  the  military 
profession.  While  such  was  his  empire  over  the  hearts  of  his 
countrymen,  he  enjoyed  among  the  natives  a popularity  such 
as  other  governors  have  perhaps  better  merited,  but  such  as  no 
other  governor  has  been  able  to  attain.  He  spoke  their  ver- 
nacular dialects  with  facility  and  precision.  He  was  intimately 
acquainted  with  their  feelings  and  usages.  On  one  or  two  oc- 
casions, for  great  ends,  he  deliberately  acted  in  defiance  of 
their  opinion  ; but  on  such  occasions  he  gained  more  in  their 
820  respect  than  he  lost  in  their  love.  In  general,  he  carefully 
avoided  all  that  could  shock  their  national  or  religious  preju- 
dices. The  first  English  conquerors  had  been  more  rapacious 
and  merciless  even  than  the  Mahrattas  ; but  that  generation 
had  passed  away.  For  the  first  time  within  living  memory, 
the  province  was  placed  under  a government  strong  enough  to 
prevent  others  from  robbing,  and  not  inclined  to  play  the  rob- 
ber itself.  These  things  inspired  good-will.  At  the  same 
time,  the  constant  success  of  Hastings,  and  the  manner  in  which 
he  extricated  himself  from  every  difficulty,  made  him  an  object 
830  of  superstitious  admiration  ; and  the  more  than  regal  splendor 
which  he  sometimes  displayed  dazzled  a people  who  have  much 
in  common  with  children.  Even  now,  after  the  lapse  of  more 
than  fifty  years,  the  natives  of  India  still  talk  of  him  as  the 
greatest  of  the  English ; and  nurses  sing  children  to  sleep  with 


823.  Malirattas  — Inhabitants  of  the  principal  states  of  Central  India.  The 
Mahratta  Confederation  extended  at  one  time  in  the  18th  century  from  the  prov- 
ince of  Agra  to  Cape  Comorin,  but  its  power  was  soon  afterward  broken  by 
the  British. 


WARREN  HASTINGS. 


39 


a jingling  ballad  about  the  fleet  horses  and  richly  caparisoned 
elephants  of  Sahib  Warren  Hostein. 

Hastings  arrived  home  in  June,  1785.  He  was  treated  by  the  king 
with  marked  distinction.  It  is  clear,  however,  that  he  was  not  sensible* 
of  the  danger  of  his  position.  Macaulay  gives  in  detail  the  errors 
made  by  this  wily  and  sagacious  statesman,  and  by  which  he  was 
brought  to  the  verge  of  ruin.  In  spite  of  many  and  serious  mistakes, 
the  general  aspect  of  affairs  was  favorable  to  Hastings.  The  king  was 
on  his  side.  The  Company  and  its  servants  were  zealous  in  his  cause. 
Among  public  men  he  had  many  ardent  friends.  From  the  ministry 
Hastings  had  every  reason  to  expect  support ; and  the  ministry  was 
very  powerful.  The  opposition  was  loud  and  vehement  against  him. 
But  the  opposition,  though  formidable  from  the  wealth  and  influence 
of  some  of  its  members,  and  from  the  admirable  talents  and  eloquence 
of  others,  was  outnumbered  in  Parliament,  and  odious  throughout  the 
country.  But  there  were  two  men  whose  indignation  was  not  to  be  so 
appeased,  Philip  Francis  and  Edmund  Burke.  Francis  had  recently 
entered  the  House  of  Commons,  and  had  already  established  a charac- 
ter there  for  industry  and  ability.  Neither  lapse  of  years  nor  change 
of  scene  had  mitigated  the  enmities  which  Francis  had  brought  back 
from  the  East.  The  zeal  of  Burke  was  still  fiercer;  but  it  was  far 
purer.  The  succeeding  description  of  Burke  is  one  of  the  most 
graphic  passages  to  be  found  in  Macaulay’s  writings. 


Edmund  Burke. — His  knowledge  of  India  was  such  as  few, 
even  of  those  Europeans  who  have  passed  many  years  in  that 
country,  have  attained,  and  such  as  certainly  was  never  at- 
tained by  any  public  man  who  had  not  quitted  Europe.  He  84c 
had  studied  the  history,  the  laws,  and  the  usages  of  the  East 
with  an  industry  such  as  is  seldom  found  united  to  so  much 
genius  and  so  much  sensibility.  Others  have  perhaps  been 
equally  laborious,  and  have  collected  an  equal  mass  of  mate- 
rials ; but  the  manner  in  which  Burke  brought  his  higher 
powers  of  intellect  to  work  on  statements  of  facts  and  on 
tables  of  figures  wTas  peculiar  to  himself.  In  every  part  of 
those  huge  bales  of  Indian  information  which  repelled  almost 
all  other  readers,  his  mind,  at  once  philosophical  and  poetical, 
found  something  to  instruct  or  to  delight.  His  reason  analyzed  850 
and  digested  those  vast  and  shapeless  masses  ; his  imagination 


845.  Edmund  Burk  e (1730-1797). — Orator  and  statesman,  distinguished  over 
all  the  great  men  of  his  time  for  eloquence  and  political  foresight.  The  trial  of 
Hastings  closed  with  another  great  and  splendid  oration  by  Burke,  lasting  over 
nine  days. 


40 


WARREN  HASTINGS. 


animated  and  colored  them.  Out  of  darkness,  and  dullness, 
and  confusion,  he  formed  a multitude  of  ingenious  theories 
and  vivid  pictures.  He  had,  in  the  highest  degree,  that  noble 
faculty  whereby  man  is  able  to  live  in  the  past  and  in  the  fu- 
fure,  in  the  distant  and  in  the  unreal.  India  and  its  inhabitants 
were  not  to  him,  as  to  most  Englishmen,  mere  names  and  ab- 
stractions, but  a real  country  and  a real  people.  The  burning 
sun  ; the  strange  vegetation  of  the  palm  and  the  cocoa  tree ; 
860  the  rice-field  ; the  tank  ; the  huge  trees,  older  than  the  Mogul 
Empire,  under  which  the  village  crowds  assemble ; the  thatched 
roof  of  the  peasant’s  hut  ; the  rich  tracery  of  the  mosque 
where  the  imaum  prays  with  his  face  to  Mecca  ; the  drums, 
and  banners,  and  gaudy  idols  ; the  devotee  swinging  in  the 
air  ; the  graceful  maiden,  with  the  pitcher  on  her  head*  de- 
scending the  steps  to  the  river  side  ; the  black  faces  ; the 
long  beards  ; the  yellow  streaks  of  sect ; the  turbans  and 
the  flowing  robes,  the  spears  and  the  silver  maces ; the 
elephants  with  their  canopies  of  state  ; the  gorgeous  palan- 
870  quin  of  the  prince,  and  the  close  litter  of  the  noble  lady — all  these 
things  were  to  him  as  the  objects  amidst  which  his  own  life  had 
been  passed,  as  the  objects  which  lay  on  the  road  between 
Beaconsfield  and  St.  James’s  Street.  All  India  was  present 
to  the  eye  of  his  mind,  from  the  halls  where  suitors  laid  gold 
and  perfumes  at  the  feet  of  sovereigns  to  the  wild  moor  where 
the  gypsy  camp  was  pitched,  from  the  bazaar,  humming  like  a 
beehive  with  the  crowd  of  buyers  and  sellers,  to  the  jungle 
where  the  lonely  courier  shakes  his  bunch  of  iron  rings  to 
scare  away  the  hyenas.  He  had  just  as  lively  an  idea  of  the 
88 o insurrection  at  Benares  as  of  Lord  George  Gordon's  riots, 
and  of  the  execution  of  Nuncomar  as  of  the  execution  of  Dr. 


863.  Mecca. — A renowned  city  of  Arabia,  the  chief  seat  of  the  Mohammedan 
religion. 

873.  Beaconsfield.— A towm  23  miles  from  London.  St.  James’s  Street. 
— A fashionable  thoroughfare  of  London. 

880.  Lord  George  Gordon  (1750-1793L— The  leader  of  a great .mob  which 
plundered  and  pillaged  about  London  in  1780.  Gordon  Avas  tried  for  high  treason, 
but.  acquitted.  He  died  in  prison  in  1793.  A graphic  description  of  these  riots  is 
worked  into  the  plot  of  Dickens’s  Barnaby  Badge. 


WARREN  HASTINGS. 


41 


Dodd.  Oppression  in  Bengal  was  to  him  the  same  thing  as 
oppression  in  the  streets  of  London.* * 

Hastings,  so  politic  and  successful  in  the  East,  committed  nothing 
but  blunders  in  Europe.  Macaulay  says  that  extreme  measures  against 
him  would  not  Imve  been  adopted,  if  his  own  conduct  had  been  judi- 
cious. Both  Hastings  and  his  agent  were  impatient  for  the  rewards 
which,  as  they  conceived,  were  deferred  only  till  Burke’s  attack  should 
be  over.  The  opposition  was  forced  to  pledge  itself  to  a prosecution. 
On  the  13th  of  June,  1786,  Mr.  Fox  brought  forward,  with  great  ability 
and  eloquence,  the  charge  respecting  the  treatment  of  Cheyte  Sing. 
To  the  astonishment  of  every  one,  Mr.  Pitt  supported  Mr.  Fox’s  mo- 
tion, from  jealous}',  it  is  said,  of  the  great  power  wielded  by  Hastings. 
Mr.  Fox’s  motion  was  carried  by  a large  majority.  The  opposition, 
flushed  with  victory  and  strongly  supported  by  the  public  sympathy, 
proceeded  to  bring  forward  a succession  of  charges  relating  chiefly  to 
pecuniary  transactions.  The  friends  of  Hastings  were  discouraged, 
and  having  now  no  hope  of  being  able  to  avert  an  impeachment,  were 
not  very  strenuous  in  their  exertions.  At  length  the  House,  having 
agreed  to  twenty  articles  of  charge,  directed  Burke  to  go  before  the 
Lords,  and  to  impeach  the  late  governor-general  of  high  crimes  and 
misdemeanors.  Hastings  was  at  the  same  time  arrested  by  the  ser- 
geant-at-arms, and  carried  to  the  bar  of  the  Peers. 

The  session  was  now  within  ten  days  of  its  close.  It  was,  therefore, 
impossible  that  any  progress  could  be  made  in  the  trial  till  the  next 
year.  Hastings  was  admitted  to  bail;  and  further  proceedings  were 
postponed  till  the  Houses  should  reassemble. 


The  Famous  Trial  of  Warren  Hastings. 

In  tlie  mean  time,  the  preparations  for  the  trial  had  proceeded 
rapidly;  and  on  the  13th  of  February,  1788,  the  sittings  of  the 
court  commenced.  There  have  been  spectacles  more  dazzling 
to  the  eye,  more  gorgeous  with  jewelry  and  cloth  of  gold,  more 
attractive  to  grown-up  children,  than  that  which  was  then  ex- 
hibited at  Westminster  ; but,  perhaps,  there  never  was  a spec- 
tacle so  well  calculated  to  strike  a highly  cultivated,  a reflect- 
ing, an  imaginative  mind.  All  the  various  kinds  of  interest 
which  belong  to  the  near  and  to  the  distant,  to  the  present 
and  to  the  past,  were  collected  on  one  spot  and  in  one  hour. 


882.  William  Dodd,  D.D.  (1729-1777).— A fashionable  and  eloquent 
preacher  of  London,  chaplain  to  the  king,  and  an  author  of  some  note.  Dodd’s 
Beauties  of  Shakespeare  is  still  known.  "He  was  convicted  of  forgery  and  hung 
in  1777. 

* “ This  passage,  unsurpassed  as  it  is  in  force  of  language  and  splendid  fidelity 
of  detail  by  anything  that  Macaulay  ever  wrote  or  uttered,  was  inspired  by  sin- 
cere and  entire  sympathy  with  that  great  statesman  of  whose  humanity  and 
breadth  of  view  it  is  the  merited,  and  not  inadequate,  panegyric.”—  Trevelyan. 


42 


WARREN  HASTINGS. 


All  the  talents  and  all  the  accomplishments  which  are  devel- 
oped by  liberty  and  civilization  were  now  displayed,  with 
every  advantage  that  could  be  derived  both  from  co-operation 
and  from  contrast.  Every  step  in  the  proceedings  carried  the 
mind  either  backward,  through  many  troubled  centuries,  to 
the  days  when  the  foundations  of  our  constitution  were  laid  ; 

900  or  far  away,  over  boundless  seas  and  deserts,  to  dusky  nations 
living  under  strange  stars,  worshipping  strange  gods,  and 
writing  strange  characters  from  right  to  left.  The  High  Court 
of  Parliament  was  to  sit,  according  to  forms  handed  down  from 
the  days  of  the  Plantagenets,  on  an  Englishman  accused  of 
exercising  tyranny  over  the  lord  of  the  holy  city  of  Benares, 
and  over  the  ladies  of  the  princely  house  of  Oude. 

The  place  was  worthy  of  such  a trial.  It  was  the  great  hall 
of  William  Rufus,  the  hall  which  had  resounded  with  accla- 
mations at  the  inauguration  of  thirty  kings,  the  hall  which 

910  had  witnessed  the  just  sentence  of  Bacon  and  the  just  abso- 
lution of  Somers,  the  hall  where  the  eloquence  of  Stratford 
had  for  a moment  awed  and  melted  a victorious  party  inflamed 
with  just  resentment,  the  hall  where  Charles  had  confronted 


904.  The  Plantagenets,  whose  name  was  derived  from  the  nlanta  genista , 
the  Spanish  broom-plant,  a sprig  of  which  was  commonly  worn  by  Geoffrey, 
the  father  of  Henry  II.,  reigned  over  England  for  more  than  three  centuries, 
and  to  this  family  all  the  English  monarchs  belonged  from  Henry  II.  to  Richard 
III.  (1154-1485).  In  the  long  and  prosperous  reign  of  Edward  III.  (1327-1377), 
the  three  essential  principles  of  the  English  government,  as  Hallam  calls  them, 
were  established  upon  a firm  footing.  The  third  was  the  right  of  the  Commons 
to  inquire  into  public  abuses,  and  to  impeach  public  counsellors. 

908.  William  Rufus.— William  II.  (1087-1100),  surnamed  Rufus,  or  the  Red, 
from  the  color  of  his  hair,  erected  Westminster  Hall,  which  still  remains  a noble 
specimen  of  the  architecture  of  the  time. 

S10.  The  celebrated  Hol'd  Bacon  was  impeached  for  taking  bribes  and  other 
corrupt  practices.  He  was  sentenced  to  pay  a fine  of  £40,000,  to  be  imprisoned 
in  the  Tower,  and  to  be  forever  incapable  of  any  office,  place  or  employment.  In 
consideration  of  his  great  merit,  the  king  soon  released  him  from  the  Tower, 
remitted  his  fine  and  other  parts  of  his  sentence. 

911.  Lord  Somers,  Lord  Chancellor  in  the  reign  of  William  III.,  was  im- 
peached for  alleged  illegal  practices,  but  through  an  irreconcilable  difference  be- 
tween the  Commons  and  the  Lords  as  to  the  mode  of  proceeding,  was  acquitted. 

911.  The  Karl  of  Strafford  was  impeached  and  tried  on  a charge  of  treason 
in  Westminster  Hall.  He  gained  many  friends  by  the  eloquence  of  his  defense. 
Strafford  was  afterward  tried  by  a “bill  of  attainder,”  condemned  to  death, 
and  beheaded  in  1641. 

913.  Cliarles  I. was  impeached  as  “a  tyrant,  traitor,  murderer, and  a public  and 
implacable  enemy  to  the  Commonwealth,”  and  brought  to  trial  before  the  high 
Court  of  Justice  assembled  in  Westminster  Hall,  in  1649.  With  great  temper 


WARREN  HASTINGS. 


43 


the  High  Court  of  Justice  with  the  placid  courage  which  has 
half  redeemed  his  fame.  Neither  military  nor  civil  pomp  was 
wanting.  The  avenues  were  lined  with  grenadiers.  The  streets 
were  kept  clear  by  cavalry.  The  peers,  robed  in  gold  and  er- 
mine, were  marshalled  by  the  heralds  under  Garter  King-at- 
arms.  The  judges,  in  their  vestments  of  state,  attended  to 
give  advice  on  points  of  law.  Near  a hundred  and  seventy  920 
lords,  three-fourths  of  the  Upper  House  as  the  Upper  House 
then  was,  walked  in  solemn  order  from  their  usual  place  of  as- 
sembling to  the  tribunal.  The  junior  baron  present  led  the 
way,  Lord  Heath  field,  recently  ennobled  for  his  memorable 
defense  of  Gibraltar  against  the  fleets  and  armies  of  France 
and  Spain.  The  long  procession  was  closed  by  the  Duke  of 
Norfolk,  Earl  Marshal  of  the  realm,  by  the  great  dignitaries, 
and  by  the  brothers  and  sons  of  the  king.  Last  of  all  came 
the  Prince  of  Wales,  conspicuous  by  his  fine  person  and  noble 
bearing.  The  gray  old  walls  were  hung  with  scarlet.  The  long  9:0 
galleries  were  crowded  by  an  audience  such  as  has  rarely  ex- 
cited the  fears  or  the  emulation  of  an  orator.  There  were 
gathered  together,  from  all  parts  of  a great,  free,  enlightened, 
and  prosperous  empire,  grace  and  female  loveliness,  wit  and 
learning,  the  representatives  of  every  science  and  of  every  art. 
There  were  seated  round  the  queen  the  fair-haired  young 
daughters  of  the  house  of  Brunswick.  There  the  ambas- 
sadors of  great  kings  and  commonwealths  gazed  with  ad- 
miration on  a spectacle  which  no  other  country  in  the  world 
could  present.  There  Siddons,  in  the  prime  of  her  majestic  94c 


and  dignity  he  declined  to  submit  himself  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Court,  on 
the  ground  that  he  was  their  hereditary  king. 

924.  Gibraltar  endured  a memorable  siege  of  more  than  three  years  at  this  time. 
It  was  bravely  defended  by  Gen.  Elliot,  with  a garrison  of  5,000  men.  The  siege 
was  continued  until  the  peace  in  1783.  Gen.  Elliot,  on  his  return  to  England  in 
1787,  was  raised  to  the  peerage  as  Lord  Heat  In  lie  Id,  of  Gibraltar. 

929.  Prince  of*  Wales. — Afterwards  George  I Y.  (1820-1830).  At  this  time 
the  Prince  was  26  years  of  age,  of  dissolute  habits  and  a spendthrift. 

937.  The  Q,ueen. — The  wife  of  George  III.,  and  Queen  of  England,  was 
Charlotte  of  Mecklenburg-Strelitz.  The  House  of  Brunswick,  or  Han- 
over, includes  the  rulers  of  England  from  George  I.  to  Victoria. 

940.  Sarah  Siddons  (1755-1831). — The  famous  tragic  actress.  Her  great 
character  was  Lady  Macbeth.  Mrs.  Siddons  was  at  this  time  33  years  old,  and 
was  at  the  height  of  her  fame. 


44 


WARREN  HASTINGS, 


beauty,  looked  with  emotion  on  a scene  surpassing  all  the  imi- 
tations of  the  stage.  There  the  historian  of  the  Roman  Em- 
pire thought  of  the  days  when  Cicero  pleaded  the  cause 
of  Sicily  against  Yerres,  and  when,  before  a senate  which  still 
retained  some  show  of  freedom,  Tacitus  thundered  against 
the  oppressor  of  Africa.  There  were  seen,  side  by  side,  the 
greatest  painter  and  the  greatest  scholar  of  the  age.  The 
spectacle  had  allured  Reynolds  from  that  easel  which  has  pre- 
served to  us  the  thoughtful  foreheads  of  so  many  writers  and 
950  statesmen,  and  the  sweet  smiles  of  so  many  noble  matrons.  It 
had  induced  Parr  to  suspend  his  labors  in  that  dark  and  pro- 
found mine  from  which  he  had  extracted  a vast  treasure  of 
erudition.  There  were  the  members  of  that  brilliant  society 
which  quoted,  criticised,  and  exchanged  repartees,  under  the 
rich  peacock-hangings  of  Mrs.  Montague.  And  there  the 
ladies  whose  lips,  more  persuasive  .than  those  of  Fox  himself, 
had  carried  the  Westminster  election  against  palace  and  treas- 
ury, shone  round  Georgiana,  Duchess  of  Devonshire. 


942  Historian  of* the  Roman  Empire. — Edward  Gibbon  (1737-1794), the 
great  historian  of  The  Beeline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Enjhre,  finished  his  mas- 
terly work  only  the  year  before,  in  1787. 

943.  Cicero  (106  b.c.--43  b.c.). — The  illustrious  Roman  orator.  The  infamous 
Verres,  praetor  of  Sicily,  was  impeached  (70  b.c.)  by  the  Sicilians,  for  atrociouc 
acts  of  cruelty  and  rapine.  Cicero  conducted  the  prosecution  of  Yerres,  who 
employed  Hortensius  to  defend  him.  On  account  of  the  overwhelming  evidence 
against  the  accused,  Cicero  delivered  only  two  of  his  seven  orations  before  Verres 
himself  went  into  voluntary  exile  ; but  the  others  were  published  and  remain  a 
noble  monument  of  the  great  orator’s  versatile  genius. 

945.  Tacitus.— A celebrated  Roman  historian  who  flourished  in  the  first  cent- 
ury. His  History  of  Agricola  and  Annals  rank  high  as  Latin  classics. 

947.  The  Greatest  Painter.— Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  (1723-1792),  the  cele- 
brated painter,  the  friend  of  Dr.  Johnson,  Burke,  Goldsmith,  and  other  great 
men  of  his  time. 

947.  The  Greatest  Scholar.— Samuel  Parr  (1747-1825),  enjoyed  in  his  time 
an  extraordinary  reputation  for  scholarship.  His  voluminous  works  have  long 
since  been  forgotten.  See  De  Q.uincey’s  essay  on  Dr.  Samuel  Parr. 

955.  Elizabeth  Montague  (1720-1800).— A celebrated  English  lady  who 
lived  in  London  after  the  death  of  her  husband  in  1775.  She  numbered  among 
her  visitors  the  most  eminent  people  of  the  day  ; Burke,  Goldsmith,  Dr.  John- 
son, Reynolds  and  Hannah  More.  Mrs.  Montague  also  made  valuable  contribu- 
tions to  literature.  Consult.  Boswell's  Life  of  Dr.  Johnson . 

956.  Charles  Janies  Fox  (1?'49-1$C6)!— The  great  statesman  and  orator. 
Burke  called  him  “ the  greatest  debater  the  wor.d  ever  saw.” 

Cf.  Sir  Walter  Scott’s  well-known  couplet — 

“Shed  upon  Fox’s  grave  the  tear, 

’Twill  trickle  to  his  rival’s  bier.” 

958.  Georgiana,  Duchess  of  Devonshire  (1757-1806). — An  English 
lady,  famed  for  her  beauty  and  accomplishments.  She  was  a personal  friend  of 


WARREN  HASTINGS. 


45 


The  sergeants  made  proclamation.  Hastings  advanced  to 
the  bar,  and  bent  his  knee.  The  culprit  was  indeed  not  un-  9^ 
worthy  of  that  great  presence.  He  had  ruled  an  extensive 
and  populous  country,  had  made  laws  and  treaties,  had  sent 
forth  armies,  had  set  up  and  pulled  down  princes.  And  in 
his  high  place  he  had  so  borne  himself  that  all  had  feared  him, 
that  most  had  loved  him,  and  that  hatred  itself  could  deny 
him  no  title  to  glory,  except  virtue.  He  looked  like  a great 
man,  and  not  like  a bad  man.  A person  small  and  emaciated, 
yet  deriving  dignity  from  a carriage  which,  while  it  indicated 
deference  to  the  court,  indicated  also  habitual  self-possession 
and  self-respect,  a high  and  intellectual  forehead,  a brow  pen-  97 a 
sive,  but  not  gloomy,  a mouth  of  inflexible  decision,  a face 
pale  and  worn,  but  serene,  on  which  was  written,  as  legibly  as 
under  the  picture  in  the  council-chamber  at  Calcutta,  Mem 
cequa  in  arduis  ; such  was  the  aspect  with  which  the  great  pro- 
consul  presented  himself  to  his  judges. 

His  counsel  accompanied  him,  men  all  of  whom  were  after- 
wards raised  by  their  talents  and  learning  to  the  highest  posts 
in  their  profession. 

But  neither  the  culprit  nor  his  advocates  attracted  so  much 
notice  as  the  accusers.  In  the  midst  of  the  blaze  of  red  dra-  9§t 
pery,  a space  had  been  fitted  up  with  green  benches  and  tables 
for  the  Commons.  The  managers,  with  Burke  at  their  head, 
appeared  in  full  dress.  The  collectors  of  gossip  did  not  fail 
to  remark  that  even  Fox,  generally  so  regardless  of  his  appear- 
ance, had  paid  to  the  illustrious  tribunal  the  compliment  of 
wearing  a bag  and  sword.  Pitt  had  refused  to  be  one  of  the 
conductors  of  the  impeachment;  and  his  commanding,  copi- 
ous, and  sonorous  eloquence  was  wanting  to  that  great  muster 
of  various  talents.  Age  and  blindness  had  unfitted  Lord 

Fox,  for  whom,  it  is  said,  she  bought  votes  by  granting  electors  the  privilege  of 
kissing  her. 

986.  William  Pitt  (1759-1806).— Son  of  the  great  Earl  of  Chatham.  His 
genius  and  ambition  displayed  themselves  with  almost  unexampled  precocity. 

At  the  age  of  25,  Pitt  ruled  absolutely  over  the  English  Cabinet,  and  was  the  most 
powerful  subject  that  England  had  seen  for  many  generations.  For  seventeen 
eventful  years,  he  held  his  great  position  without  a break.  As  a statesman  and 
orator,  Pitt  was  of  the  highest  rank.  Cf.  Macaulay’s  biography  of  William  Pitt. 


46 


WARREN  HASTINGS, 


99°  North  for  the  duties  of  a public  prosecutor  ; and  his  friends 
were  left  without  the  help  of  his  excellent  sense,  his  tact,  and 
his  urbanity.  But,  in  spite  of  the  absence  of  these  two  dis- 
tinguished members  of  the  Lower  House,  the  box  in  which 
the  managers  stood  contained  an  array  of  speakers  such  as 
perhaps  had  not  appeared  together  since  the  great  age  of 
Athenian  eloquence.  There  were  Fox  and  Sheridan,  the 
English  Demosthenes  and  the  English  Hyperides.  There 
was  Burke,  ignorant,  indeed,  or  negligent,  of  the  art  of  adapt- 
ing his  reasonings  and  his  style  to  the  capacity  and  taste  of 
ioco  his  hearers,  but  in  amplitude  of  comprehension  and  richness 
of  imagination  superior  to  every  orator,  ancient  or  modern. 
There,  with  eyes  reverentially  fixed  on  Burke,  appeared  the 
finest  gentleman  of  the  age,  his  form  developed  by  every  manly 
exercise,  his  face  beaming  with  intelligence  and  spirit,  the 
ingenious,  the  chivalrous,  the  high-souled  Windham.  Nor, 
though  surrounded  by  such  men,  did  the  youngest  manager 
pass  unnoticed.  At  an  age  when  most  of  those  who  distin- 
guish themselves  in  life  are  still  contending  for  prizes  and 
fellowships  at  college,  he  had  won  for  himself  a conspicuous 
xoio  place  in  Parliament.  No  advantage  of  fortune  or  connection 
was  wanting  that  could  set  off  to  the  height  his  splendid  tal- 


990.  Lord  North. — The  prime  minister  of  England  during  the  Revolution. 
“ A more  amiable  man  never  lived,”  says  Earl  Russell ; “ a worse  minister  never 
since  the  Revolution  governed  this  country.”  Lord  North  was  56  years  old  at 
this  time. 

996.  Richard  Brinsley  Sheridan  (1751-1816).— The  brilliant  orator  and 
author  of  the  popular  plays,  The  Rivals  and  School  for  Scandal , which  have  kept 
their  popularity  for  over  a hundred  years.  His  great  speech  urging  the  impeach- 
ment of  Hastings  is  still  traditionally  remembered  as  perhaps  the  very  grandest 
triumph  of  oratory  in  a time  prolific  of  such  triumphs. 

997.  Demosthenes  (About  382  b.c.--322  b c.).— The  great  Greek  orator, 
generally  regarded  as  the  greatest  orator  that  ever  lived. 

997.  Hyperides. — A famous  Athenian  orator  put  to  death  in  322  b.c.  Cicero 
ranks  him  next  to  Demosthenes.  His  orations  have  all  been  lost. 

1005.  William  Windham  (1750-1810)  —Secretary  of  War  unde*  Mr.  Pitt, 
an  excellent  speaker  and  a most  effective  debater.  Fox.  Pitt,  Canning,  Dr.  John- 
son, and  other  great  men  of  that  time,  gave  Windham  the  highest  praise.  In  his 
lifetime,  he  gained  the  nickname  of  “ the  weathercock.”  Notwithstanding  his 
great  talents  and  rare  gifts,  Windham  appears  in  history  as  a mere  shadow  of  a 
man. 

1006.  The  Young-est  Manager. — Charles  Earl  Grey  (1764-1845).  Head  of 
the  government  which  carried  the  Reform  Bill  in  1832,  and  a distinguished 
English  statesman.  During  the  Grey  ministry  many  great  and  important 
measures  were  passed.  It  was  said  that  a more  honorable  man  never  lived. 


WARREN  HASTINGS.  4? 

ents  and  his  unblemished  honor.  the  an- 

swers of  Hastings  were  first  read.  The  ceremony  occupied  two 
whole  days,  and  was  rendered  less  tedious  than  it  would  other- 
wise have  been  by  the  silver  voice  and  just  emphasis  of  Cow- 
per,  the  clerk  of  the  courtj  a near  relation  of  the  amiable  poet. 

On  the  third  clay  Burke  rose.  Four  sittings  were  occupied  by 
his  opening  speech,  which  was  intended  to  be  a general  intro- 
duction to  all  the  charges.  With  an  exuberance  of  thought 
and  a splendor  of  diction  which  more  than  satisfied  the  highly  102a 
raised  expectation  of  the  audience,  he  described  the  character 
and  institutions  of  the  natives  of  India,  recounted  the  circum- 
stances in  which  the  Asiatic  empire  of  Britain  had  originated, 
and  set  forth  the  constitution  of  the  Company  and  of  the  Eng- 
lish presidencies.  Having  thus  attempted  to  communicate  to 
his  hearers  an  idea  of  Eastern  society  as  vivid  as  that  which 
existed  in  his  own  mind,  he  proceeded  to  arrraign  the  admin- 
istration of  Hastings  as  systematically  conducted  in  defiance  of 
morality  and  public  law.  The  energy  and  pathos  of  the  great 
orator  extorted  expressions  of  unwonted  admiration  from  the  1030 
Item  and  hostile  chancellor,  and,  for  a moment,  seemed  to 
pierce  even  the  resolute  heart  of  the  defendant.  The  ladies  in 
the  galleries,  unaccustomed  to  such  displays  of  eloquence, 
excited  by  the  solemnity  of  the  occasion,  and  perhaps  not 
unwilling  to  display  their  taste  and  sensibility,  were  in  a state 
of  uncontrollable  emotion.  Handkerchiefs  were  pulled  out; 
smelling  bottles  were  handed  round  ; hysterical  sobs  and 
screams  were  heard  ; and  Mrs.  Sheridan  was  carried  out  in  a 
fit.  At  length  the  orator  concluded.  Raising  his  voice  till 
the  old  arches  of  Irish  oak  resounded,  “ Therefore,”  said  he,  1040 
11  hath  it  with  all  confidence  been  ordered  by  the  Commons  of 
Great  Britain,  that  I impeach  Warren  Hastings  of  high  crimes 
and  misdemeanors.  I impeach  him  in  the  name  of  the  Corn- 


1015.  Cowper,  the  Cleric  of  the  Court.— This  gentleman  gave  William 
Cowper,  the  poet,  the  lucrative  office  of  Clerk  of  the  Journals  of  the  House  of 
Lords,  which  was  accepted  ; but  being  obliged  to  appear  personally  at  the  bar 
of  the  House  for  examination,  the  sensitive  poet  was'  seized  with  nervousness 
and  dared  not  appear. 


48 


WARREtf  HASTINGS. 


moils’  House  of  Parliament,  whose  trust  he  has  betrayed.  I 
impeach  him  in  the  name  of  the  English  nation,  whose  ancient 
honor  he  has  sullied.  I impeach  him  in  the  name  of  the  peo-  i 
pie  of  India,  whose  rights  he  has  trodden  under  foot,  and 
whose  country  he  has  turned  into  a desert.  Lastly,  in  the 
name  of  human  nature  itself,  in  the  name  of  both  sexes,  in  the 
1050  name  of  every  age,  in  the  name  of  every  rank,  I impeach  the 
common  enemy  and  oppressor  of  all  ! ” 

When  the  deep  murmur  of  various  emotions  had  subsided, 
Mr.  Fox  rose  to  address  the  Lords  respecting  the  course  of 
proceeding  to  be  followed.  The  wish  of  the  accusers  was 
that  the  court  would  bring  to  a close  the  investigation  of  the 
first  charge  before  the  second  was  opened.  The  wish  of  Hast- 
ings  and  of  his  counsel  was  that  the  managers  should  open  all 
the  charges,  and  produce  all  the  evidence  for  the  prosecution, 
before  the  defense  began.  The  Lords  retired  to  their  own 
1060  House  to  consider  the  question.  The  division  showed  which 
way  the  inclination  of  the  tribunal  leaned.  A majority  of  near 
three  to  one  decided  in  favor  of  the  course  for  which  Hastings 
contended. 

When  the  court  sat  again,  Mr.  Fox,  assisted  by  Mr.  Grey, 
opened  the  charge  respecting  Cheyte  Sing,  and  several  days 
were  spent  in  reading  papers  and  hearing  witnesses.  The  next 
article  was  that  relating  to  the  Princesses  of  Oude.  The  con- 
duct of  this  part  of  the  case  was  intrusted  to  Sheridan.  The 
curiosity  of  the  public  to  hear  him  was  unbounded.  His 
1070  sparkling  and  highly  finished  declamation  lasted  two  days ; but 
the  Hall  was  crowded  to  suffocation  during  the  whole  time. 

It  was  said  that  fifty  guineas  had  been  paid  for  a single  ticket. 

June  was  now  far  advanced.  The  session  could  not  last 
much  longer;  and  the  progress  which  had  been  made  in  the 
impeachment  was  not  very  satisfactory.  There  were  twenty 
charges.  On  two  only  of  these  had  even  the  case  for  the  pros- 
ecution been  heard ; and  it  was  now  a year  since  Hastings  had 
been  admitted  to  bail. 

The  interest  taken  by  the  public  in  the  trial  was  great  when 


WARREN  HASTINGS. 


49 


the  court  began  to  sit,  and  rose  to  the  height  when  Sheridan  1080 
spoke  on  the  charge  relating  to  the  Begums.  From  tliat  time 
the  excitement  went  down  fast.  The  spectacle  bad  lost  the 
attraction  of  novelty.  The  great  displays  of  rhetoric  were 
over. 

It  is  to  be  added  that,  in  the  spring  of  1788,  when  the  trial 
commenced,  no  important  question,  either  of  domestic  or 
foreign  policy,  occupied  the  public  mind. 

The  proceedings  in  Westminster  Hall,  therefore,  naturally 
attracted  most  of  the  attention  of  Parliament  and  of  the 
country.  It  was  the  one  great  event  of  that  season.  But  in  I°9° 
the  following  year  the  king’s  illness,  the  debates  on  the  Regen- 
cy, the  expectation  of  a change  of  ministry,  completely  diverted 
public  attention  from  Indian  affairs;  and  within  a fortnight 
after  George  the  Third  had  returned  thanks  in  St.  Paul’s  for 
his  recovery,  the  States-general  of  France  met  at  Versailles. 

In  the  midst  of  the  agitation  produced  by  these  events,  the 
impeachment  was  for  a time  almost  forgotten. 

The  trial  in  the  Hall  went  on  languidly.  In  the  session  of 
1788,  when  the  proceedings  had  the  interest  of  novelty,  and 
when  the  Peers  had  little  other  business  before  them,  only  noo 
thirty-five  days  were  given  to  the  impeachment.  In  1789,  the 
Regency  Bill  occupied  the  Upper  House  till  the  session  was 
far  advanced.  During  the  whole  year  only  seventeen  days 
were  given  to  the  case  of  Hastings.  It  was  clear  that  the  mat- 
ter would  be  protracted  to  a length  unprecedented  in  the  annals 
of  criminal  law. 

A well-constituted  tribunal,  sitting  regularly  six  days  in  the 
week,  and  nine  hours  in  the  day,  would  have  brought  the  trial 
of  Hastings  to  a close  in  less  than  three  months.  The  Lords 
had  not  finished  their  work  in  seven  years.  mo 

At  length,  in  the  spring  of  1795,  the  decision  was  pro- 

1102.  Regency  Bill. — In  1788,  Kin"  George  III. was  seized  with  a violent  ill- 
ness, which  terminated  in  symptoms  of  lunacy.  Fox  insisted  on  the  exclusive 
right  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  to  be  appointed  Regent,  a position  which  Pitt  tri- 
umphantly refuted.  While  the  bill  was  in  progress  the  king’s  convalescence 
was  announced,  February,  1789. 

3 


50 


WARREN  HASTINGS. 


nounced,  near  eight  years  after  Hastings  had  been  brought  by 
the  Sergeant-at-arms  of  the  Commons  to  the  bar  of  the  Lords. 
On  the  last  day  of  this  great  procedure  the  public  curiosity, 
long  suspended,  seemed  to  be  revived.  Anxiety  about  the 
judgment  there  could  be  none ; for  it  had  been  fully  ascertained 
that  there  was  a great  majority  for  the  defendant.  Neverthe- 
less, many  wished  to  see  the  pageant,  and  the  Hall  was  as  much 
crowded  as  on  the  first  day.  But  those  who,  having  been 
1120  present  on  the  first  day,  now  bore  a part  in  the  proceedings  of 
the  last,  were  few ; and  most  of  those  few  were  altered  men. 

As  Hastings  himself  said,  the  arraignment  had  taken  place 
before  one  generation,  and  the  judgment  was  pronounced  by 
another.  The  spectator  could  not  look  at  the  woolsack,  or 
at  the  red  benches  of  the  Peers,  or  at  the  green  benches  of  the 
Commons,  without  seeing  something  that  reminded  him  of  the 
instability  of  all  human  things,  of  the  instability  of  power  and 
fame  and  life,  of  the  more  lamentable  instability  of  friendship. 
Of  about  a hundred  and  sixty  nobles  who  walked  in  the  proces- 
1130  sion  on  the  first  day,  sixty  had  been  laid  in  their  family  vaults. 
The  great  chiefs  were  still  living,  and  still  in  the  full  vigor  of 
their  genius.  But  their  friendship  was  at  an  end. 

Only  twenty-nine  Peers  voted.  Of  these  only  six  found 
Hastings  guilty  on  the  charges  relating  to  Cheyte  Sing  and  to 
the  Begums.  On  other  charges,  the  majority  in  his  favor  was 
still  greater.  On  some  he  was  unanimously  absolved.  He 
was  then  called  to  the  bar,  was  informed  from  the  woolsack 
that  the  Lords  had  acquitted  him,  and  was  solemnly  discharged. 
He  bowed  respectfully  and  retired. 

1140  We  have  said  that  the  decision  had  been  fully  expected.  It 
was  also  generally  approved.  At  the  commencement  of  the 
trial  there  had  been  a strong  and  indeed  unreasonable  feeling 
against  Hastings.  At  the  close  of  the  trial  there  was  a feeling 
equally  strong  and  equally  unreasonable  in  his  favor.  The 

1124.  Woolsack.— An  act  of  Parliament  was  passed  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth 
to  prevent  the  exportation  of  wool.  In  order  to  keep  well  in  mind  this  source  of 
national  wealth,  woolsacks  were  placed  in  the  House  of  Lords  as  seats  for  the 
judges.  The  seat  of  the  Lord  Chancellor  is  to  this  day  called  the  ‘‘  woolsack,’ 


WARREN  HASTINGS. 


51 


iength  of  his  trial  made  him  an  object  of  compassion.  It  was 
thought,  and  not  without  reason,  that,  even  if  he  was  guilty, 
he  was  still  an  ill-used  man,  and  that  an  impeachment  of 
eight  years  was  more  than  a sufficient  punishment.  It  was  also 
felt  that,  though  in  the  ordinary  course  of  criminal  law,  a de- 
fendant is  not  allowed  to  set  off  his  good  actions  against  his  1150 
crimes,  a great  political  cause  should  be  tried  on  different 
principles,  and  that  a man  who  had  governed  an  empire  during 
thirteen  years  might  have  done  some  very  reprehensible  things, 
and  yet  might  be,  on  the  whole,  deserving  of  rewards  and 
honors  rather  than  of  fine  and  imprisonment.  The  press,  an 
instrument  neglected  by  the  prosecutors,  was  used  by  Hastings 
and  his  friends  with  great  effect.  Every  ship,  too,  that  arrived 
from  Madras  or  Bengal  brought  a cuddy  full  of  his  admirers. 
Every  gentleman  from  India  spoke  of  the  late  governor-general 
as  having  deserved  better,  and  having  been  treated  worse,  than  n6o 
any  man  living.  The  effect  of  this  testimony  unanimously 
given  by  all  persons  who  knew  the  East  was  naturally  very 
great. 

Hastings  was,  however,  safe.  But  in  everything  except 
character  he  would  have  been  far  better  off  if,  when  first  im- 
peached, he  had  at  once  pleaded  guilty,  and  paid  a fine  of 
fifty  thousand  pounds.  He  was  a ruined  man.  The  legal  ex- 
penses of  his  defense  had  been  enormous.  The  expenses  which 
did  not  appear  in  his  attorney’s  bill  were  perhaps  larger  still. 
Great  sums  had  been  laid  out  in  bribing  newspapers,  rewarding  1170 
pamphleteers,  and  circulating  tracts.  Burke,  so  early  as  1790, 
declared  in  the  House  of  Commons  that  twenty  thousand 
pounds  had  been  employed  in  corrupting  the  press.  It  is  certain 
that  no  controversial  weapon,  from  the  gravest  reasoning  to 
the  coarsest  ribaldry,  was  left  unemployed. 

Still,  if  Hastings  had  practiced  strict  economy,  he  would, 
after  all  his  losses,  have  had  a moderate  competence  ; but  in 
the  management  of  his  private  affairs  he  was  imprudent. 

1158.  Madras.— A large  and  prosperous  maritime  city  of  India,  on  the  Coro- 
mandel coast,  founded  by  the  English  in  1640. 


52 


WARREN  HASTINGS. 


The  dearest  wish  of  his  heart  had  always  been  to  regain 
u8o  Daylesford.  At  length,  in  the  very  year  in  which  his  trial 
commenced,  the  wish  was  accomplished  ; and  the  domain, 
alienated  more  than  seventy  years  before,  returned  to  the  de- 
scendant of  its  old  lords.  But  the  manor-house  was  a ruin  ; 
and  the  grounds  round  it  had,  during  many  years,  been  utterly 
neglected.  Hastings  proceeded  to  build,  to  plant,  to  form  a 
sheet  of  water,  to  excavate  a grotto  ; and,  before  he  was  dis- 
missed from  the  bar  of  the  House  of  Lords,  he  had  expended 
more  than  forty  thousand  pounds  in  adorning  his  seat. 

The  general  feeling  both  of  the  Directors  and  of  the  propri 
1190  etors  of  the  East  India  Company  was  that  he  had  great  claims 
on  them,  that  his  services  to  them  had  been  eminent,  and  that 
his  misfortunes  had  been  the  effect  of  his  zeal  for  their  interest. 
An  annuity  for  life  of  four  thousand  pounds  was  settled  on 
Hastings.  The  company  was  also  permitted  to  lend  him  fifty 
thousand  pounds,  to  be  repaid  by  installments  without  interest. 

He  had  security  and  affluence,  but  not  the  power  and  dig- 
nity which,  when  he  landed  from  India,  he  had  reason  to  ex- 
pect. He  was  now  too  old  a man  to  turn  his  mind  to  a new 
class  of  studies  and  duties.  He  had  no  chance  of  receiving  any 
1200  mark  of  royal  favor  while  Mr.  Pitt  remained  in  power  ; and, 
when  Mr.  Pitt  retired,  Hastings  was  approaching  his  seventi- 
eth year. 

The  last  twenty-four  years  of  his  life  were  chiefly  passed  at 
Daylesford.  He  amused  himself  with  embellishing  his  grounds, 
riding  fine  Arab  horses,  fattening  prize-cattle,  and  trying  to 
rear  Indian  animals  and  vegetables  in  England.  Literature 
divided  his  attention  with  his  conservatories  and  his  menag- 
erie. He  had  always  loved  books,  and  they  were  now  neces- 
sary to  him.  Though  not  a poet,  in  any  high  sense  of  the 
1210  word,  he  wrote  neat  and  polished  lines  with  great  facility,  and 
was  fond  of  exercising  this  talent. 

When  Hastings  had  passed  many  years  in  retirement,  and 
had  long  outlived  the  common  age  of  men,  he  again  became 
for  a short  time  an  object  of  general  attention.  In  1813  the 


WARREX  HASTINGS. 


53 


charter  of  the  East  India  Company  was  renewed,  and  much 
discussion  about  Indian  affairs  took  place  in  Parliament.  It 
was  determined  to  examine  witnesses  at  the  bar  of  the  Com- 
mons, and  Hastings  was  ordered  to  attend.  He  had  appeared 
at  that  bar  once  before.  It  was  when  he  read  his  answer  to 
the  charges  which  Burke  had  laid  on  the  table.  Since  that 1220 
time  twenty-seven  years  had  elapsed  ; public  feeling  had  un- 
dergone a complete  change  ; the  nation  had  now  forgotten  his 
faults,  and  remembered  only  his  services.  The  reappearance, 
too,  of  a man  who  had  been  among  the  most  distinguished  of 
a generation  that  had  passed  away,  who  now  belonged  to  his- 
tory, and  who  seemed  to  have  risen  from  the  dead,  could  not 
but  produce  a solemn  and  pathetic  effect.  The  Commons  re- 
ceived him  with  acclamations,  ordered  a chair  to  be  set  for 
him,  and,  when  he  retired,  rose  and  uncovered.  The  Lords  re- 
ceived the  old  man  with  similar  tokens  of  respect.  *230 

These  marks  of  public  esteem  were  soon  followed  by  marks 
of  royal  favor.  Hastings  was  sworn  of  the  privy  council,  and 
was  admitted  to  a long  private  audience  of  the  prince  regent, 
who  treated  him  very  graciously.  When  the  Emperor  of  Rus- 
sia and  the  King  of  Prussia  visited  England,  Hastings  appeared 
in  their  train  both  at  Oxford  and  in  the  Guildhall  of  London, 
and,  though  surrounded  by  a crowd  of  princes  and  great  war- 
riors, was  everywhere  received  with  marks  of  respect  and  ad- 
miration. Hastings  now  confidently  expected  a peerage  ; but, 
from  some  unexplained  cause,  he  was  again  disappointed.  1240 
He  lived  about  four  years  longer,  in  the  enjoyment  of  good 
spirits,  of  faculties  not  impaired  to  any  painful  or  degrading 
extent,  and  of  health  such  as  is  rarely  enjoyed  by  those 
who  attain  such  an  age.  At  length,  on  the  22d  of  August, 
1818,  in  the  86th  year  of  his  age,  he  met  death  with  the  same 
tranquil  and  decorous  fortitude  which  he  had  opposed  to  all 
the  trials  of  his  various  and  eventful  life. 


1236.  Guildhall.—  An  important  public  building  in  London.  The  original 
building  was  erected  in  1411.  It  has  been  famous  for  centuries  for  the  magnifi- 
cence of  its  civic  feasts. 


54 


WARREN  HASTINGS. 


With  all  his  faults — and  they  were  neither  few  nor  small — 
only  one  cemetery  was  worthy  to  contain  his  remains.  In  that 
1250  temple  of  silence  and  reconciliation  where  the  enmities  of 
twenty  generations  lie  buried,  in  the  Great  Abbey  which  has 
during  many  ages  afforded  a quiet  resting-place  to  those  whose 
minds  and  bodies  have  been  shattered  by  the  contentions  of  the 
Great  Hall,  the  dust  of  the  illustrious  accused  should  have 
mingled  with  the  dust  of  the  illustrious  accusers.  This  was 
not  to  be.  Yet  the  place  of  interment  was  not  ill  chosen.  Be- 
hind the  chancel  of  the  parish  church  of  Daylesford,  in  earth 
which  already  held  the  bones  of  many  chiefs  of  the  house  of 
Hastings,  was  laid  the  coffin  of  the  greatest  man  who  has  ever 
1260  borne  that  ancient  and  widely  extended  name.  On  that  very 
spot,  probably,  fourscore  years  before,  the  little  Warren, 
meanly  clad  and  scantily  fed,  had  played  with  the  children  of 
plowmen.  Even  then  his  young  mind  had  revolved  plans 
which  might  be  called  romantic.  Yet,  however  romantic,  it 
is  not  likely  that  they  had  been  so  strange  as  the  truth.  Not 
only  had  the  poor  orphan  retrieved  the  fallen  fortunes  of  his 
line.  Not  only  had  he  repurchased  the  old  lands,  and  rebuilt 
the  old  dwelling.  He  had  preserved  and  extended  an  empire. 
He  had  founded  a polity.  He  had  administered  government 
1270  and  war  with  more  than  the  capacity  of  Richelieu.  He  had 
patronized  learning  with  the  judicious  liberality  of  Cosmo. 
He  had  been  attacked  by  the  most  formidable  combination  of 
enemies  that  ever  sought  the  destruction  of  a single  victim  ; 
and  over  that  combination,  after  a struggle  of  ten  years,  he 
had  triumphed.  He  had  at  length  gone  down  to  his  grave  in 
the  fullness  of  age  in  peace,  after  so  many  troubles  ; in  honor, 
after  so  much  obloquy. 

Those  who  look  on  his  character  without  favor  or  malevo- 
lence will  pronounce  that,  in  the  two  great  elements  of  all  so- 


1270.  Cardinal  Richelieu  (1585-1642). — The  eminent  and  ambitious 
French  statesman  and  prime  minister. 

1271.  Cosmo  or  Cosimo  de  Medici  (1389-1464),  surnamedthe  Elder,  a 
famous  statesman  of  the  Florentine  republic,  and  liberal  patron  of  learning  and 
the  arts. 


WABBEK  HASTINGS. 


55 


cial  virtue,  in  respect  for  the  rights  of  others,  and  in  sympathy  1280 
for  the  sufferings  of  others,  he  was  deficient.  His  principles 
were  somewThat  lax.  His  heart  was  somewhat  hard.  But 
though  we  cannot  with  truth  describe  him  either  as  a righteous 
or  as  a merciful  ruler,  we  cannot  regard  without  admiration 
the  amplitude  and  fertility  of  his  intellect,  his  rare  talents  for 
command,  for  administration,  and  for  controversy,  his  daunt- 
less courage,  his  honorable  poverty,  his  fervent  zeal  for  the  in- 
terests of  the  State,  his  noble  equanimity,  tried  by  both 
extremes  of  fortune,  and  never  disturbed  by  either. 


Selections  to  Commit  to  Memory. 

He  had  a head  which  statuaries  loved  to  copy,  and  a foot  the  deformity  of 
which  the  beggars  in  the  streets  mimicked.— Essay  on  Lord  Byron. 


This  is  the  highest  miracle  of  genius — that  things  which  are  not  should  be  as 
though  they  were,  that  the  imaginations  of  one  mind  should  become  the  per- 
sonal recollections  of  another.  And  this  miracle  the  tinker  has  wrought. — Essay 
on  the  Pilgrim'' s Progress. 


To  every  man  upon  this  earth 
Death  cometh  soon  or  late, 

And  how  can  man  die  better 
Than  facing  fearful  odds, 

For  the  ashes  of  his  fathers 
And  the  temples  of  his  gods  ? 

—Lays  of  Ancient  Rome. 


The  real  security  of  Christianity  is  to  be  found  in  its  benevolent  morality,  in 
its  exquisite  adaptation  to  the  human  heart,  in  the  facility  with  which  its  scheme 
accommodates  itself  to  the  capacity  of  every  human  intellect,  in  the  consolation 
which  it  bears  to  the  house  of  mourning,  in  the  light  with  which  it  brightens  the 
great  mystery  of  the  grave.— Essay  on  Southey'1  s Colloquies  on  Society. 


Surely  it  is  no  exaggeration  to  say,  that  no  external  advantage  is  to  be  com- 
pared with  that  purification  of  the  intellectual  eye,  which  gives  us  to  contemplate 
the  infinite  wealth  of  the  mental  world  ; all  the  hoarded  treasures  of  the  prime- 
val dynasties,  all  the  shapeless  ore  of  its  yet  unexplored  mines.  This  is  the  gift 
of  Athens  to  man.  Her  freedom  and  her  power  have  for  more  than  twenty  cen- 
turies been  annihilated ; her  people  have  degenerated  into  feeble  slaves  ; her 
language  into  a barbarous  jargon  ; her  temples  have  been  given  up  to  the  suc- 
cessive depredations  of  Romans,  Turks,  and  Scotchmen  ; but  her  intellectual 
empire  is  imperishable.  And  when  those  who  have  rivaled  her  greatness  shall 
have  shared  her  fate  ; when  civilization  and  knowledge  shall  have  fixed  their 
abode  in  distant  continents  ; when  the  sceptre  shall  have  passed  away  from 
England ; when,  perhaps,  travelers  from  distant  regions  shall  in  vain  labor  to 
decipher  on  some  mouldering  pedestal  the  name  of  our  proudest  chief ; shall 
hear  savage  hymns  chanted  to  some  misshapen  idol  over  the  ruined  dome  of  our 
proudest  temple  ; and  shall  see  a single  naked  fisherman  wash  his  nets  in  the 
river  of  ten  thousand  masts,— her  influence  and  her  glory  will  still  survive,  fresh 
in  eternal  youth,  exempt  from  mutability  and  decay,  immortal  as  the  intellectual 
principle  from  which  they  derived  their  origin,  and  over  which  they  exercise 
their  control.— Essay  on  the  Athenian  Orators. 


56 


ENGLISH  CLASSIC  SERIES, 

FOR 

lasses  in  English  Literature,  Reading,  Grammar,  etc. 

EDITED  BY  EMINENT  ENGLISH  AND  AMERICAN  SOHOLARS. 

. Each  Volume  contains  a Sketch  of  the  Author's  Life , Prefatory  and 
Explanatory  Notes , etc.,  etc. 


Byron’s  Prophecy  of  Dante. 

(Cantos  I.  and  II.) 

Milton’s  E’Allegro,  and  II  Pen- 
seroso. 

Eord  Bacon’s  Essays,  Civil  and 
Moral.  (Selected.) 

Byron’s  Prisoner  of  Chillon. 
Moore’s  Fire  Worshippers. 

(Lalla  Rookh.  Selected.) 
Goldsmith’s  Deserted  Village. 
Scott’s  Marmion.  (Selections 
from  Canto  VI.) 

Scott’s  Day  of  the  East  Minstrel. 

(Introduction  and  Canto  I.) 
Burns’ s Cotter’s  Saturday  Night, 
and  other  Poems. 

Crabbe’s  The  Village. 
Campbell’s  Pleasures  of  Hope. 

(Abridgment  of  Part  I.) 
Macaulay’s  Essay  on  Bunyan’s 
Pilgrim’s  Progress. 
Macaulay’s  Armada,  and  other 
Poems. 

Shakespeare’s  Merchant  of  Ve- 
nice, (Selections  from  Acts  I., 
III.,  and  IV.) 

Goldsmith’s  Traveller. 

Hogg’s  Queen’s  Wake,  andKil- 
meny. 

Coleridge’s  Ancient  Mariner. 
Addison’s  Sir  Roger  de  Cover- 
ley. 

Gray’s  Elegy  in  a Country 
Churchyard. 

Scott’s  Eady  of  the  Eake.  (Canto 

Shakespeare’s  As  Von  Eike  It, 
etc.  (Selections.) 

Shakespeare’s  King  John,  and 
Richard  II.  (Selections.) 
Shakespeare’s  Henry  IV.,  Hen- 
*yV.,  Henry  VI.  (Selections.) 
Shakespeare’s  Henry  VIII.,  and 
tJulius  Caesar.  (Selections.) 
Wordsworth’s  Excursion.  (Bk.I.) 
Pope’s  Essay  on  Criticism. 
Spenser’s  FaerieQueene.  (Cantos 
I.  and  II.) 

Cowper’s  Task.  (Book  I.) 
Milton’s  Comus. 

Tennyson’s  Enoch  Arden,  The 
Eotus  Eaters,  Ulysses,  and 

Tithonus. 


31 

33 

33 

34 

35 

36 

37 

38 

39 

40 

41 

43 

43 

44 

45 

46 

47 

48 

49 

50 

51 

53 

53 

54 

55 

56 

57 

58 

59 

60 

61 

63 


{Additional  numbers  on 


Irving’s  Sketch  Book.  (Selec- 
tions.) 

Dickens’s  Christmas  Carol. 

(Condensed.) 

Carlyle’s  Hero  as  a Prophet. 

Macaulay’s  Warren  Hastings. 

(Condensed.) 

Goldsmith’s  Vicar  of  Wake- 
field. (Condensed.) 

Tennyson’s  The  Two  Voices, 
and  a Dream  of  Fair  Women. 

Memory  Quotations. 

Cavalier  Poets. 

Dryden’s  Alexander’s  Feast, 
and  MacFlecknoe. 

Keats’  The  Eve  of  St.  Agnes. 

Irving’s  Eegend  of  Sleepy  Hoi- 
low. 

Eamb’s  Tales  from  Shake- 
speare. 

Ee  Row’s  How  to  Teach  Read- 
ing. 

Webster’s  Bunker  Hill  Ora- 
tions. 

The  Academy  Ortho^pist.  A 
Manual  of  Pronunciation. 

Milton’s  Eycidas,  and  Hymn 
on  the  Nativity. 

Bryant’s  Thana'topsis,  and  other' 
Poems. 

Ruskin’s  Modern  Painters. 

(Selections.) 

The  Shakespeare  Speaker. 

Thackeray’s  Roundabout  Pa- 
pers. 

Webster’s  Oration  on  Adams 
and  Jefferson. 

Brown’s  Rab  and  His  Friends. 

Morris’s  Eife  and  Death  of 
Jason. 

Burke’s  Speech  on  American 
Taxation. 

Pope’s  Rape  of  the  Eock. 

Tennyson’s  Elaine. 

Tennyson’s  In  Memoriam. 

Church’s  Story  of  the  iEneid. 

Church’s  Story  of  the  Iliad. 

Swift’s  Gulliver’s  Voyage  to 
Eilliput. 

Macaulay’s  Essay  on  Eord  Ba- 
con. (Condensed.) 

The  Alcestis  of  Euripides.  Eng- 
lish Version  by  Rev.  R.  Potter, M.  A. 

next  page.) 


English  Classic 

63  The  Antigone  of  Sophocles. 

English  Version  by  Thos.  Franck- 
lin,  D.D. 

64  Elizabeth  Barrett  Browning. 

(Selected  Poems.) 

65  Robert  Browning.  (Selected 

Pqems.) 

66  Addison,  The  Spectator.  (Sel’ns.) 

67  Scenes  from  George  Eliot’s 

Adam  Bede. 

68  Matthew  Arnold's  Culture  and 

Anarchy. 

69  DeQuincey’s  Joan  of  Arc. 

70  Carlyle’s  Essay  on  Burns. 

71  Byron’s  Childe  Harold’s  Pil- 

grimage. 

7J5  Poe’s  Raven,  and  other  Poems. 

73  & 74  Macaulay's  JLord  Clive. 

(Double  Number.) 

75  Webster’s  Reply  to  Hayne. 


12  0729160 


=jr 


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78  American  Patriotic  Selections : 

Declaration  of  independence, 
Washington’s  Farewell  Ad- 
dress, Rincoln’s  Gettysburg 
Speech,  etc. 

79  & 80  Scott’s  Rady  of  the  Rake. 

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81  & 8J5  Scott's  Marmion*  (Con- 
densed.) 

83  & 84  Pope's  Essay  on  Man. 

85  Shelley’s  Skylark,  Adonais,  and 

other  Poems. 

86  Dickens’s  Cricket  on  the 

Hearth. 

87  Spencer’s  Philosophy  of  Style. 

88  Lamb’s  Essays  of  Elia. 

89  Cowper's  Task,  Book  II. 

90  Wordsworth's  Selected  Poems. 


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